


Heroes Eternal

by WarriorHeart



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Amnesia, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Bnha In BotW, Character Death, How Do I Tag, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Past Character Death, Spirits, alternate storyline, botw au, but also dumbass Midoriya, no beta we die like men, to avoid spoilers, ughhhh anyways, ya basically any botw tags apply here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2020-05-31 13:52:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19427281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarriorHeart/pseuds/WarriorHeart
Summary: Izuku wakes up in a strange place with no memory.He's not alone.





	1. Izuku

There's a vague soreness in his body.

He feels... cold.

Izuku's eyes slide open. His vision is hazy at best, and it takes a few moments of blinking before the light above him clears. It's coming from swirling symbols all over some small mound.

He glances around, slowly sitting up. He's in some sort of pool, though the water (or whatever he was in) has already drained away. The light above him is the only source; the rest of the room is pretty dark and... pretty small. He shivers; he's wearing the barest amount of clothing to provide some modesty, and the cave is chilly.

Izuku slides out of the pool, grimacing as his feet hit the cold stone below. He's slightly alarmed to realize the only exit from this small room is closed, and there doesn't seem to be a way out. The only other structure in the room is a pedestal, of sorts. It begins to glow as he comes near, a hazy orange-yellow.

Something pops out from the center, and he jumps back a bit. It looks to be a tablet of stone, with a handle on one end. The center is adorned with an odd eye shape.

When nothing happens, Izuku slowly reaches out to take it. He turns it over, the smooth, polished edge of the other side gleaming in the soft light. Something appears on it; a small circle that seems to be spinning.

The slate flares to life, and Izuku nearly drops it in his surprise. Words form on the screen, and he squints at the brightness.

_Shiekah Slate activated._

_Welcome back, Midoriya Izuku._

The door slides open in front of him. Izuku glances between it and the words, but the words disappear after a few moments. A soft hum from the slate is the only indication to Izuku that it's still active.

Slowly, he steps through the door, scanning the next room. It's bigger, and there are three more doors, all sealed. Two chests lay in front of him, and another activation stone is next to the door across from him.

The chests are filled with a shirt, pants, boots, a belt the Sheikah Slate slides into, and nothing else. The clothes themselves are a bit small, and again Izuku wonders: _What's going on?_

Clearly, he couldn't remember what was happening or what had happened, based on the 'welcome back' the Slate had displayed. And there were faint scars on his body; a bigger one stretched along his side. Had he been in some sort of battle? That would explain the sealed-off chamber to keep enemies out while he recovered. But then where did those other doors-

The one on his right slid open, and Izuku didn't have enough time to duck before someone stepped through.

With the dim lighting, it was hard to get a good look at him, but the first thing that stuck out to Izuku was the dual-colored hair. The left side was a vibrant red, and the right was a snowy white. He was pale, as Izuku was, and similarly bare.

Their gazes locked, and he could see the other stiffen. He held a Sheikah Slate in his hands as well, and his gaze flickered down to Izuku's own as it buzzed softly. He glanced down at it, seeing new words flicker on. _Shoto is awake._

The sound of the other's voice made Izuku shiver slightly. "Who are you?"

Soft and raspy. The voice of someone who hadn't spoken in... years.

Izuku's voice was in a similar state. "I could ask you the same thing."

Shoto moved slowly to the chests by his door, pulling out clothing from his as well. Like Izuku's, it was a simple cotton shirt, ragged around the edges, with matching trousers and scuffed boots. While the other dressed, Izuku studied the other door. It seemed there were three of them; had they all fallen in the same battle? Were they meant to wake up at the same time? Who were they, if they had been sealed in this odd chamber?

"So you don't remember anything, either."

Izuku jumped again, turning back to his... companion, of sorts. He then realized he had been mumbling his questions out loud, slowly shaking his head. The other moved closer, sliding his Slate into the holder at his hip. "It's... blank. The only thing I know is my name - Midoriya Izuku."

"And I'm guessing your Sheikah Slate told you that."

"Mhm."

"Well, apparently I'm Todoroki Shoto." The halfie frowned softly. "Were you able to get it to display anything else?"

"Ah... I didn't really try, no." Izuku pulled his Slate out, and it flickered to life. Not much was shown, but three dots appeared - green, white, and a red one a small distance to the left. The red one was dimmed; he carefully dragged his fingers on the screen, zooming in on the dots. Three names appeared; 'Izuku' over the green, 'Shoto' over the white, and 'Katsuki' over the red.

"I think that means they're not awake yet," Izuku murmured. "Ours are bright... I wonder if we can enter his room?"

Shoto shook his head. "With the way this place seems to be designed, I think the doors only open when... whatever this place is deems us fit to wake up."

Izuku frowned, sliding his Slate back into its pouch. "Well... Then it can't be helped. We might as well try and explore outside a bit. My Slate notified me when you were awake, so we should be able to tell when he wakes up. Then we can come back and try to figure things out."

"That is, if we can even get out without him."

"I don't think they'd design it like that." Izuku hummed, moving over to the fourth door ahead. "If we all woke up when we were healed or whatever we were doing in here, we'd most likely heal at different rates and thus wake up at different times. That could be months apart, and there doesn't seem to be any sort of food here. If they wanted to hide us or heal us, that would defeat the purpose of this place entirely."

Shoto nodded slowly in understanding as Izuku reached the activation port. The same eye symbol was on it; it glowed as he came near. He pulled his slate out again, pressing it to the stone.

With a flash, it flared to a blue light - the same as the light in his room. With a slight groan and scraping sound, the door ahead lifted.

Light streamed in, and the two had to shield their eyes as a wave of fresh air rushed in. Izuku's eyes adjusted quicker, and he moved forwards slowly, still squinting slightly. There was a boulder in the way, but the light was coming from above it. He turned to Shoto. "Can you give me a boost?"

His companion nodded slightly, moving closer. He knelt, cupping his hands together, and Izuku rested his foot in them. With a small grunt, Shoto pushed him up, and he clawed his way on top of the rock. As he did, he found it wasn't a boulder, but merely a part of the stairs that had broken down over time.

After pulling Shoto up, the two hesitated. Then, softly, Izuku admitted, "I'm scared to go out. I don't know what we'll find."

"I don't, either. But... We have to try, don't we?" Shoto offered a weak smile. "If there's something dangerous, we can try and close the door again until this Katsuki person wakes up. Strength in numbers, right?"

"I guess..." Izuku stood slowly, leading the way up the stairs into the sunlight. Soft chirping filled their ears, accompanied by the soft rustle of the grass and leaves. As they emerged from the cave, Izuku's mouth dropped.

They were on a cliff of sorts that overlooked a forest below. The mountain continued on to their left, but sloped down on their right. Far in the distance, he could spot a volcano, more mountains, and... A castle.

_Rememberrememberremember_

_Nownownow_

_Whathappenedwhathappenedwhathappened_

_Father-_

Izuku inhaled sharply, stumbling back. Shoto caught him, and he could barely hear his panicked "Are you okay?!" over the ringing in his ears. Shoto carefully helped him sit, frowning in worry. "Your nose is bleeding..."

"Eh...?" Izuku touched at the suddely-warm part of his face. The tips of his fingers came back stained red.

"What happened? Did you remember something?"

"Not... quite," Izuku frowned, rubbing his forehead. "Looking at the castle... Some part of me is screaming that it's important, that... That I need to remember."

Shoto glanced over his shoulder at the structure. "Well... We know we're in a kingdom. So... For us to be sealed away in this place..." He looked back at Izuku. "There are two options for us to be so important. We're warriors of some sort, or... We're royalty. Or a mix of both."

Izuku hesitated, then admitted softly, "The word 'father' came to mind when I saw it."

Shoto's face was tight, but he tensed upon seeing something behind Izuku. The smaller turned a bit, shocked to see a man standing down the path a small ways.

_I didn't see him before._

Tufts of blond hair blew in the breeze. The man was thin, almost skeletal, and he stood there a few moments before turning and heading down the path. There was a small fire nearby, in a small alcove of the rock face. The stranger sat there, seeming to wait for them as he tended to the fire.

"...Do we wanna trust him?" Shoto asked under his breath. Izuku shrugged a bit.

"We don't have a choice, do we? Besides, it's two on one, we should be able to take him."

"We've also been unconscious for god knows how long. We don't know how to fight."

"...I don't want to linger on that outcome. Let's go."

Standing, the two made their way down the slope. Along the way, Izuku paused, picking up a branch. At Shoto's quizzical look, he shrugged. "Better to have a weak weapon than no weapon."

While his companion grabbed his own stick, Izuku noticed a patch of red nearby. It looked to be a plant of some kind, and as he picked it up, his Slate buzzed again.

_[{Hylian Shroom}]_

_[A common mushroom found near trees in Hyrule. Eat it to restore half a heart, or cook it with other ingredients to boost its effects.]_

"...Did you get that?"

"Yeah." Shoto moved closer. His Slate displayed a slightly different screen: _Izuku has found: {Hylian Shroom}._ The description was still there. It was then that Izuku also noticed three little hearts in the top left corner of both of their Slates.

"That must indicate how healthy or injured we are," the smaller murmured. "So food will help heal us. So if we were in a chamber specifically for healing... Then it must have been near-death."

Shoto put his Slate away. "Perhaps the man knows something. It can't hurt to ask."

Izuku nodded, and they continued down the slope. As they approached, Izuku caught the scent of something sweet. The stranger looked up at them and smiled.

"It's quite unusual to see people around these parts. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Shoto spoke up, voice neutral. "Who are you?"

"Me?" The man grunted, standing. "I'll spare you my life story. I'm an old fool who's lived here alone for quite a while. Though I suppose I could ask the same of the two of you." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Those doors have been sealed for a very, very long time. So what were you two young gentlemen doing in there all these years?"

The two shared a glance. Would it be dangerous to admit they had no idea?

"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter much." The blond shrugged. "I'm sure you wish to explore, so I won't keep you any longer, though I will give you some information. This place is called the Great Plateau. It's isolated from the rest of the kingdom." He pointed to an old, crumbling building a fair distance from where they were standing. "That place was once the cite of many ceremonies, both religious and otherwise. Who knows what you may find there?" He smiled at them. "Let me know if I can assist you at all."

"Thank you," Izuku said softly. The old man sat by the fire again, and Izuku spied the fruit nearby. He bent down, picking it up-

"I beg your pardon!" Izuku startled, nearly dropping the apple as his Slate buzzed again. "I do believe that is my baked apple."

"Oh- um- sorry-"

The man burst into hearty laughter. "I merely jest! It's yours. You look like you could get some more meat on those bones, anyways. A baked apple is a quick and easy snack on the go."

Izuku's face flushed, even as Shoto snorted in amusement. He mumbled another thank-you as they continued down the path.

He peered down at his Slate when they were a small distance away, looking at the new entry.

_[{Baked Apple}]_

_[Direct heat has softened and sweetened this apple. Eat to restore three-quarters of a heart.]_

"I wonder what a regular apple would give us, then," Izuku murmured. He glanced up as Shoto grunted, and metal flashed. The halfie had hefted an ax from a tree stump nearby.

The tree branch, baked apple, and Hylian Shroom all disappeared in a blue fizz of light. They both startled.

"What on earth- Is there a time limit?" Izuku frowned, but Shoto held up his Slate. "Look."

On the screen, there were new icons. A sword, bow, shield, shirt, apple, plate, and star were on the top. Boxes lined the area beneath. A full-body picture of Shoto was visible to the right of them; he was wearing the same tunic, trousers, and boots. Two of the boxes were filled - one held the tree branch, the other the ax.

Izuku blinked, pulling out his own Slate. The same tabs were on top, though his had automatically selected the apple. In one of the boxes, the Hylian Shroom was displayed. He swiped from right to left, and the baked apple appeared under the plate tab - 'meals'. So cooked food appeared here?

He hesitantly tapped on the baked apple. The box became highlighted, and the description reappeared, along with a new box. A few options appeared:

_[Eat]_

_[Hold]_

_[Cancel]_

_[Give]_

He selected 'Give'.

_[Give to:]_

_{Shoto]_

_[Katsuki]_

_[Cancel]_

"We can exchange items," Izuku murmured. Then he noticed two tabs at the bottom, clicking on the one to the left. A replica of Shoto's display appeared, and at the top, the words _Shoto's Inventory_ were listed. He highlighted the ax, and a new option appeared.

_[Ask for]_

_[Cancel]_

He pressed 'ask for'. Shoto's Slate buzzed, and a new message appeared on the screen.

_[Izuku would like your {Woodcutter's Ax}.]_

_[Yes/No]_

Shoto pressed 'yes,' and Izuku's Slate returned to his own inventory. The ax had appeared in the Weapon's tab.

"That's... awesome."

"And useful," Shoto commented. He pressed on the rightmost tab, but an error message appeared.

_[Error: Katsuki's Slate is inactive. Try again later.]_

The two shared a glance. Then Izuku said softly, "What happens if one of these break? Our whole inventory would end up locked off. So if we have some good gear- What are you doing?!"

Shoto dropped his Slate into the pond nearby. He bent down and fished it out - and everything was still working as normal. Izuku let out a small sigh of relief, then smacked his shoulder. "Why would you do that?"

"It looks like these were built from similar materials to the place we were in. If anything or anyone wanted to get in, why didn't they? The materials were probably impossible to break into. So these shouldn't break, either. I think it's just because he hasn't woken up or turned his on yet."

Izuku frowned, nodding a small bit. "That would make sense... Well, let's get going."

They set out again, headed for the temple. As they neared, several dark objects came into view. They were a dark metal, like their Slates, but rusted. Some were missing parts. Most were missing legs and hanging at odd angles.

"What... happened here?" Izuku whispered, slowly turning. Horror filled his entire being. "It looks like this place was attacked."

"There don't seem to be any bodies or corpses," Shoto said softly. "Not here, at least. So whatever these things are, they didn't hurt anyone."

They made their way up the stairs slowly. More of the husks were near the collapsed wall of the temple, making Izuku wonder if they had destroyed it, or weakened it enough that time took care of the rest. Moss covered most of the area, and the wooden doors had rotted away. Only the iron framework remained.

Both of their Slates buzzed.

_[Warning! Enemy nearby!]_

A red creature came into view, sniffing the air. It spotted them, giving a pig-like snort of surprise. It had some sort of weapon in hand - a wooden club, it appeared.

Izuku tensed, and suddenly the ax appeared in his hand in the same shimmer of blue light from before. Without thinking, he swung, knocking the creature back. It gave a squeal of pain - but did not get back up.

Shoto slowly approached. The body of the creature quickly disintegrated, turning into a cloud of blackish-purple dust that was quickly blown away. The club and an odd horn object were left behind. Shoto picked up both of them, and Izuku's Slate buzzed again.

_{Shoto has discovered: {Bokoblin Horn}.]_

_[The severed horn of a Bokoblin, a creature often encountered on the plains of Hyrule. The horn isn't edible, but it can be tossed into a stew with some critters to make an elixir.]_

_[New creature discovered: Red Bokoblin]_

_[This common species is a nuisance all over Hyrule. Some have unified in the time following the Great Calamity and have formed factions of bandits. While not very clever, they are at least intelligent enough to hunt beasts and grill the meat for food. Though they're typically ferocious carnivores, they actually enjoy fruit as well.]_

"...huh." Izuku blinked. "It specified 'red'... so I wonder if there are different colors and they mean they're different power levels?"

"It could be," Shoto shrugged. "I guess we'll find out soon enough, since they seem to be all over." He pointed over Izuku's shoulder, and the shorter turned, squinting slightly. Two more were visible a fair distance away, on top of a hill.

Their Slates buzzed again.

_[New Objective: Reach the Sheikah Tower.]_

A button on the side lit up, flashing until Izuku pressed it. The screen darkened, and it took a few moments to realize it was the map function. His and Shoto's dots were standing together, while Katsuki's was still at where he assumed was their healing area - though there was now a blue icon there.

_[Shrine of Ressurrection]_

A golden dot was up and to the right, blinking. Izuku selected it, and the objective showed up again. "So it seems these things can show us where we need to go... Huh. But I don't see a tower..."

"Well, it's best to look," Shoto hummed. "You never know what we'll find along the way."

"Yeah, that's fair enough..."

They got to the end of the steps before another buzz alerted them.

_[Katsuki is awake.]_


	2. Shoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their third companion is awake.
> 
> Their quest begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a while to get out, if you haven't seen my tumblr, my browser restarted when i was away from the computer and i lost the draft and didn't save it elsewhere :/
> 
> Also, sorry if these first few chapters get tedious. The three stooges will be discovering a lot of things.

Shoto feels a flicker of surprise when he sees the notification. Indeed, on Izuku's slate, the red dot highlighted with Katsuki's name is bright, and zoomed in as they are, they can see it start to move around.

"Let's go back and introduce ourselves," Izuku suggests, looking up at his companion. "He'll be as confused as we are, no doubt, and we can explain how these things work. Hopefully."

"Sounds good to me," Shoto shrugs. So they start back up the path. The old man waves as they pass him, and Izuku is the only one of the two to wave back. They've broken into a light jog by the time they reach the entrance to the Shrine. Shoto heads in first, slowing down. He can hear some shuffling on the inside, likely Katsuki exploring their rooms or the hub area.

He slides down the broken part of the stairs, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the lower light. Izuku crouches above him, but he signals for the smaller to wait. This Katsuki would likely be as defensive as they were when they first saw each other, so one at a time would be the least alarming option. When Izuku nods, he makes his way into the main room of the Shrine.

He sees the third instantly, crouched near the back wall. The Slate gives him away more than anything with its soft glow. Shoto stops, raising his hands to show he's unarmed. "Katsuki, right?"

"...How did you know that?" Distrust laces the blond's voice. Shoto gestures to the Slate at his hip.

"The Slate notified us."

"'Us?'" He sees Katsuki's eyes narrow, then drift over his shoulder. He must see Izuku's shadow, because he growls lowly. "Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Shoto. That's Izuku. We just woke up a few minutes ago, too." Shoto takes a step closer. "It's a lot warmer outside. Let's talk out there."

The blond doesn't move for several moments, but eventually stands slowly. He's taller than Izuku but shorter than Shoto, and his hair is as spiky as Izuku's is curly. He moves closer slowly, and Shoto can see he has an additional belt running across his chest. A sword peeks out from behind his back.

Shoto tilts his head. "You got that from the clothes chest?"

"Yeah. Did neither of you get one?"

"No. Just the clothes and the Slates."

Katsuki gives a small grunt. In the light, Shoto can see he has scars over his hands and visible arms. They're pale compared to his somewhat tanned skin, making Shoto wonder if they were healed in the Shrine. He had a few big ones across his chest and sides, and one large one in the center of the stomach. He doesn't know what Izuku has.

Katsuki refuses Izuku's offered hand, grunting softly as he heaves himself up. Shoto takes it instead, hoisting his leg over and standing. Katsuki is already heading up the stairs, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. They follow, waiting quietly as Katsuki takes in the view. It's several moments before he turns to them, hands on his hips. "...So. What do we know?"

"Not much," Izuku speaks up. "There's an older man down the path that told us this place is isolated, so it should just be us, him, and a few monsters we saw before coming back here."

"A recovery area," Shoto commented. "Most likely, anyways. And to keep us from being found by anyone else."

Katsuki frowned, though he didn't protest this thought. "And what about the Slates?"

"They hold our 'inventory' and function as a map." Izuku pulled his own out, moving closer to Katsuki. "Everything's sorted under these tabs. We can also give each other things, or ask for things."

"We also discovered what seems to be a health system," Shoto adds. "Those hearts reflect our physical state. If we get hit, we lose part of one. Food seems to replenish them."

He sees the look in Katsuki's eyes - that moment he realizes how entirely close they must have come to death if they woke up here.

"...And what's the glowing dot that keeps beeping?"

"We went down to that building over there." Izuku pointed to the ruined temple down the slope. "It appeared on our Slates. We assumed it was a quest or objective of sorts. There's another tab if you swipe right on the inventory."

"So we need to go to that point and find this tower?"

"That's the idea," Shoto replied. The blond raised an eyebrow. "Then let's get going."

So they started down the slope again. Katsuki slowed when they neared the old man, eyes narrowing. The blond looked up, smiling. "So you have a new companion. It's nice to meet you."

"...who are you?"

"As I told these two, I'll spare you my life story. I'm sure you'd like to explore this plateau. I'll be here if you need me."

Katsuki started walking again before the man had finished. Izuku and Shoto shared a glance, shrugged, and followed him. The blond had pulled his Slate back out, peering down at it. He kept looking down, then back up at the landscape. "...there isn't a fucking tower anywhere near that dot."

"Shoto thought so too," Izuku offered. "We might as well explore, though."

"Whatever." Katsuki put his Slate away. He squinted as they continued onwards. "Those the things you mentioned earlier?" He pointed to the hill, where the Bokoblins they had seen earlier stood.

"Yeah. You should have the information log somewhere. Not very hard to beat; Izuku killed one with a single swing from an ax," Shoto commented. Katsuki hums softly in thought, glancing at the sword on his back.

Curious, Shoto pulls out his own Slate, flipping to Katsuki's inventory. He selects the sword, reading the description.

_[{Royal Broadsword}]_

_[The Hyrulean royal family would award this sword to knights who achieved remarkable feats. A sword that balances strength and beauty as elegantly as this one is a rare find.]_

Surprise flickered through him, and he showed the entry to Izuku. The smaller's eyes lit up, and he looked at Katsuki. "You're a knight?"

Katsuki stops, turning to them. "Huh?"

Shoto turns his Slate to Katsuki. The blond scans through, eyebrows raising in surprise and confusion. "...huh. Must've been." He smiles, then, for the first time. "Remarkable feats, huh? Must've been some knight if you two didn't get anything."

Izuku and Shoto share another glance. Katsuki turns and continues.

Shoto has to hold back laughter, honestly. Sure, Katsuki may have been a great knight, but they were still important enough to have been in the Shrine in the first place.

They walk in silence for a few minutes until they approach the two Bokoblins. Katsuki instantly takes out his sword, but Izuku rests a hand on his arm. "Wait. They had different weapons." He points, and Shoto sees he's telling the truth. The Bokoblins are holding what looks to be sticks with a string tied to curve them slightly. It looks similar to one of the icons on their Slates, so Shoto investigates. The tab itself displays as 'bows', and when highlighted, a small box appears.

_[Bows are long-ranged weapons forged with flexible materials and string. Arrows are pulled back with the string and fly upon release, making these good weapons to attack enemies from a distance.]_

"You'll probably be shot before you get there," Shoto comments. "Unless you want to try throwing your sword."

"...fine." Katsuki sheathes it, and they circle around the archers. They're close to the dot at this point, but another Bokoblin stands in their way. This one holds another sword, though it's shorter and plainer than Katsuki's, along with something in its other hand. It raises it when they draw near, giving one of those piggish snorts.

"You're not stopping me from this one," Katsuki declares, pulling out his sword. He rushes at the Bokoblin, but his first attack is stopped by whatever the Bokoblin is holding in one arm. The blond is easily able to push it aside and stab the thing in the chest, and it puffs into smoke like before. The sword and shield clatter to the ground as Katsuki sheathes his sword once more. Izuku bends down to look at the shield, while Shoto grabs the sword. He feels something appear across his chest, and looks down to see a similar strap to what Katsuki has. A glance over his shoulder shows he has a sheath for the sword. He slides it in as Izuku hums in interest.

"This is a Boko Shield," he comments, glancing at his Slate. "Not a lot of defense, since it's wood and cloth, but it's better than nothing."

"And what's yours?" Katsuki questions, looking at Shoto. He pulls out his Slate.

"Traveller's Sword. Used to fend off small beasts, but not very effective against monsters. Too short."

Katsuki hums, then turns to the cave-like area the Bokoblin was guarding. "This is the place the Slate wanted us to go to. Don't see a tower."

"Oh, there's one of the Slate slots!" Izuku heads in, and with a shared glance, the two follow. The shorter is already putting his Slate into place, and he reads off as they approach. "'Shiekah Slate authenticated. Shiekah Tower activated. Watch for... falling rocks...'?"

They had about two seconds to process that before the ground shook. Izuku let out a cry as they fell to the ground, and the sound of cracking filled the air.

Then sunlight streamed in, and Shoto realized they were rising. He managed to get to his feet, gaping as he saw other towers rising all across the land.

"Guys- There's more-" he breathed. The tower they were on finally halted, nearly sending him back to the ground. Katsuki and Izuku both stood slowly, peering around as he had done.

Five other towers were in view. Two were in the direction of the castle. One was near the volcano, and the other two were south of that. All of them glow orange, though blue highlights are added around the top.

And it's not just the towers. Across the land, more orange lights flicker into view. They're far smaller than the towers, and Shoto spots one on the Plateau. He points to it. "What are those?"

"I'm... not sure," Izuku admits. He's still looking around at all of the different places and towers. "Maybe this thing activated all of them?"

"It must have. They weren't there before-"

Izuku's slate buzzes, and they turn back to it. A new message is displayed.

_[Distilling local information...]_

The pillar above began to glow blue. At the bottom, there appeared to be a drop forming - one that splashed onto Izuku's Slate. Katsuki's and Shoto's buzzed in the process. They pull theirs out as Izuku grabs his, all automatically flipping to the map screen. The border around the area they're in highlights before a wave of blue light washes over the screen. A map appears, and the Slate displays another message.

_[Reigonal map extracted.]_

Shoto raises an eyebrow. "So these act as our map points. Getting to the top gives us a map of that area."

"Oh, that's so useful!" Izuku exclaims. "And they're pretty obvious, too. We can get a good view of the area from up top. See what's interesting, stuff like that."

"That's all well and good," Katsuki interrupts, "but how do we get down?"

They both realize at the same time they're very, very high up in the air. A fall from this height would kill them.

Izuku peered down one of the three holes in the floor. "There's little platforms. And the whole thing seems to be made of mesh, so we can climb it easily."

While they look down at that, Shoto looks down at his Slate. There's a flashing icon that leads him to the Quest page.

The 'Memories' section has opened up.

"Guys."

Both Katsuki and Izuku turn to him. Shoto decides to sit, because he doesn't really know what to expect from this.

A video shows up with text underneath. He reads the text out loud first. "This message is here in case Purah's fears come true and you've lost your memories in the Shrine of Ressurection. You, Katsuki, and Izuku are Hyrule's greatest hope. The video contains more information about what you must do."

All three are silent. It's Katsuki who says softly, "Play it."

Shoto taps on the video. It enlarges to fill the whole screen, and he sees himself and his two companions. They seem to be in some sort of fancy bedroom; Izuku sits on the bed, Katsuki stands in the background, and Shoto is sitting at a desk, operating the Slate. Some shifting occurs before he moves back. _"It's recording."_

_Izuku brightens. "Oh, good!" He stands and moves closer. "Wow... It's like looking in a mirror."_

_"Can we just get this over with?" Katsuki snaps. His arms are crossed. He has a different sword from the one he carries now strapped to his back. Shoto rolls his eyes, a gesture only Izuku sees - and stifles a giggle at._

_"Well, this will probably be as weird for you as it is for us right now," Izuku hums. "A scientist named Purah recommended we do this. She's been our greatest help in figuring out how to use these Slates. Find her if you need help. She'll be in Hateno Village to the southeast."_

_"Getting off track," Shoto reminded gently, then turned to the camera. "She said we should do this because there's a chance the place you woke up from, the Shrine of Ressurection, could wipe your memories. We have no way of knowing how long you've been in there, but we can only hope it hasn't been too long. The threat you face is one that has come around for generations, for as long as many can remember. His name is All For One."_

_Katsuki spoke up. "Purah said to not overload you right away, so we'll stick to the basics. This guy has been appearing every couple hundred years. He's basically evil incarnate. The three of us - you - are the only ones that can stop him. He can wipe out entire armies on his own, but we have the abilities to stop him, along with four others from the different tribes. We have what's known as Champion Abilities. You probably won't be able to use them. Don't worry about that. You'll learn more about them as you regain more memories."_

_Izuku spoke again. "At the moment, we have maybe a few months before All For One strikes. The Shrine was built as a last resort in case things go horribly wrong and one - or all - of you is struck down in battle. We don't know what your conditions will be like. You might be watching this while hiding from enemies. All For One may be gone. Our plan in case something does happen to us, though, is to seal him into Hyrule Castle and pray that seal holds long enough to let you recover."_

_"That should cover it for now," Shoto said softly. "We need to get to training, anyways. We can set up more videos later, too."_

_"Yeah... Good luck!" Izuku smiled at the camera. "Even though we failed, I know getting a second chance will make all the difference."_

The video ends, and it's a long while before any of them speak.

Shoto wonders if any of them know what to say.

In the end, he's the one to break the silence, standing and sliding his Slate back into its holder. "Well... We'll just have to explore and learn on our own. I think... I think it's been a long time since whatever that was happened. If we were that important... The old man probably would have recognized us."

Izuku looks sad. Katsuki looks blank. The blond turns away. "Let's get going."

They're moving to the edge of the platform when the ground shakes again. It's more like distant tremors, however, and Izuku is the first to see where it's coming from.

"The castle," he breathes.

Shoto and Katsuki turn. Indeed, the castle in the distance... seems to have a black mist swirling out of it. The mist wraps around the castle, spiraling up and up before taking the shape of a beast's head.

A roar sounds across the land, and Shoto knows without having to look at the others.

Their plan had worked, it seemed.

All For One was sealed within the castle. But that seal didn't seem like it would last much longer.


	3. Katsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three discover their first Shrine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tone of this got a bit more off and lore-oriented than I'd expected. Hope you enjoy!

Katsuki doesn't know how long they all sit there, lost in their own thoughts. The video had confirmed a few things, though - they were companions before this, and it seemed one of the other two had been some sort of royalty, based on the interior of the room they'd recorded in. His guess would be Shoto, though they had all been wearing the vivid blue tunics they now donned.

He was the first to stand, inhaling softly. "Well. We won't be able to do anything on top of this thing. Let's get back to the ground and look for a way off this place."

This seems to startle the other two out of their thoughts. While they stand and prepare for the climb down, Katsuki peers down one of the holes in the floor. The entire tower is made up of a grate or a mesh of some sort, giving them plenty of handholds. Still, the platform below is close enough that he jumps down, giving a small grunt at the impact. While waiting for the other two to join, he decided to scan the area.

On the Plateau, he could see the temple the other two had mentioned, along with some other ruins to the far left. Rolling hills with scattered patches of trees sprawled away past that; in the distance, he could see the volcano and numerous mountains. The castle was in view, though he elected to ignore that - along with the swirling mass of evil contained within. North of that, near the volcano, seems to be a forest, though a thick cloud of fog hangs over it, and from this distance, he can hardly make anything out.

Further south, rivers cleave the landscape, all seeming to lead back to a large lake. A massive bridge spans the center of it, leading to a dense forest. Two mountains jut up from the earth to the east of the bridge, hiding anything else from view.

Deep down, Katsuki's struggling to not be intimidated by how massive this world seems to be.

Shoto lands beside him, helping Izuku down, and the blond continues hopping down the platforms. They spiral down the tower until Katsuki's boots kick up a small cloud of dust as he lands on the ground below. He notices an odd little building nearby; orange patterns swirl around the outside, and he sees something that looks similar to the device in the tower that Izuku had inserted his Slate into. The same eye pattern was there, though it was smooth, with no place to insert anything.

A voice from above makes him jump. "Ho!"

Katsuki spins as Izuku and Shoto land on the ground. The old man from earlier is... gliding towards them. He's holding some sort of device fashioned from wood and cloth, and he lands smoothly before them.

"Well now! I was wondering what was causing those tremors." The man surveys the tower behind them. "It seems many of these have sprouted up across the land. Interesting indeed..."

"What's that?" Katsuki points to the device the man had been holding onto. The blond holds it up. "This? I call it a paraglider. It allows me to fly from higher locations down to lower elevations quite swiftly." He nodded to the nearby crumbled walls of the Plateau's edge. "And if I so wished, it would be my exit from this plateau. However, I am content to reside here."

"Is it impossible to climb down?" Izuku chimes in, tilting his head. The man shrugged.

"It would be quite the fall if you slipped. No death would be more certain... or foolish."

Katsuki spoke again. "Can we use that paraglider?"

"This old thing?" The old man laughs. "No. It's worn down over the years. However..." He tilted his head. "I would be willing to make one for each of you... For a price."

Katsuki frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Do you see that glowing shrine over there?" The old man pointed to the structure Katsuki had been studying before. "It began to glow when the towers rose up. One could only assume some sort of treasure resided inside, no?"

"So if we get you that treasure, you'll make us paragliders?"

"That is correct."

Surprise flickered in the three of them. Katsuki, once more, was the first to move. "I'll get it. It'll be quicker if one of us goes."

"We don't know what that thing might have inside," Shoto countered cooly.

"It's made of the same stuff that tower, our Slates, and the place we woke up in are made of. So it's clearly made by the same people. And if they wanted to help us so much, why would they make this the thing that killed us? It doesn't make any sense. So I'll go."

"Actually," the old man spoke up, "there are four total shrines across this plateau. To make the workload even, perhaps you should split up to find them."

Izuku hummed, tilting his head. "Well... We can find each other pretty easily now that we have a map of the area. And I'm sure we'll be able to contact each other somehow if we need help-"

Three chimes sounded at once. On instinct, the three pulled out their Slates. A new option on the map had appeared:

[Warp]

Katsuki pressed it. Two new buttons appeared:

[Warp to:]

{Izuku}

{Shoto}

{Cancel}

The two dots that stood for his companions were glowing brighter than before, as if to better clarify for whoever was warping exactly _where_ they would be warping to.

"Huh." Shoto hummed softly. "That makes things easier. So... How about we all do this first one, just to see what we might be getting into, and then we'll split up for the last three and meet up somewhere?"

"Sounds like a plan," Izuku nodded. "If this area was meant to help us recover, the shrines will probably teach us something useful."

Katsuki didn't miss the old man's smile as he watched them plan.

He also didn't miss how sad it seemed, paired with the grief in his eyes.

"Well, if you have yourselves sorted, I shall leave you to your adventures," the old man piped up. "I have a cottage in the field behind the temple. Stop by when it gets dark, and I'll make a hearty dinner for you all. I wish you luck!" He waved, then headed off.

Katsuki spoke softly. "Anyone else get the feeling you've seen him before?"

Shoto and Izuku nodded. "Like an itch in the back of your mind," Shoto agreed. "And with how familiar he seems to be with all of this... Do you think he knew us?"

"We have no way of knowing." Katsuki shrugged. "Let's just see what this shrine has in store for us."

-

Entering said shrine was fairly easy, and to their surprise, a travel gate had appeared - Izuku had commented it was probably similar to their warp feature, to get them across the kingdom with ease.

Inside, they were greeted by a squared-off room. Two metal doors lay across the floor, and another one of the Slate holders was there. Katsuki moved for it first, sliding his Slate into place.

[Sheikah Slate authenticated.]

[Distilling rune.]

Katsuki raised an eyebrow but was patient enough while waiting for the information to come from the stone. He peered down at his Slate as the display flipped to a new screen.

[{Magnesis}]

[Manipulate metal objects using magnetism. Grab onto metallic objects with the magnetic energy that pours forth from this rune. Objects held in this magnetic snare can be lifted and moved easily.]

"What is it?" Izuku questioned, peering over his shoulder as Katsuki withdrew his Slate. The explanation was given soon enough, based on the beeps that sounded from his companion's Slates. While they looked it over, Katsuki tapped the rune. His Slate began to glow softly, and the room gained a faintly red hue. The metal doors on the floor turned bright red, and when he extended his Slate towards them, the one closest was highlighted in yellow.

He tapped on the screen, and a swirl of light shot from the Slate to the door. The door lifted slightly, and as Katsuki moved the Slate, the door mimicked his movements.

"That's so cool," Izuku breathed, watching with wide eyes. Katsuki set the door down a small distance away, revealing a hold and a ladder beneath them. The blond climbed down, humming softly. "There's a tunnel down here."

He ventured ahead while the other two climbed down. The tunnel led to a small set of stairs, ahead of which were square-shaped rocks blocking the path. One was metal, though, so he grabbed onto it, pushing the other blocks out of the way with it.

His heart leaped when he saw some sort of robot on the platform beyond. It reminded him vaguely of the large ones covering the temple, but this one was small, likely designed for more personal combat rather than the long-range the others seemed capable of.

His Slate chimed as the robot swung to look at him, blue lines glowing an alarming purple-pink. Without thinking, he slammed the box into it, sending it over the side of the platform and into the shallow water below. Right as Shoto and Izuku reached him, the thing short-circuited, then exploded. Some parts were left behind, but Katsuki was more focused on calming down from the last two or three heartbeats.

After ensuring he wasn't hurt, Izuku had pulled out his Slate. "New enemy discovered: Guardian Scout. Guardians were originally designed by an ancient civilization to combat Ganon, but these smaller models were placed inside shrines as part of the trials found within. The multiple legs and beam functionality were scaled-down but kept mostly intact."

"So we'll be seeing more of these in the various shrines," Shoto murmured. "It seems we won't be able to get through without some fighting."

"They're not that powerful," Katsuki scoffed, masking his disturbance. He'd seen how the thing was about to fire something from its eye. How much would that have hurt? Probably not much, what with how small it was, but still. Jesus.

And that was a small one.

He brushed it off, climbing down the ladder and grabbing the parts. Two new information boxes popped up on his screen, but he ignored them for now, watching the three parts fizz off into blue mist as they were transported into the Slate's storage. By the time he'd climbed back up, the other two were on the next platform, waiting for him to join them.

Katsuki let Izuku try out the rune, dragging the door that acted as a bridge to the other side of their platform, forming another bridge. The smaller then opened the metal doors before them, revealing the end of the shrine. In the center of the room, a glowing blue box surrounded a withered shape inside. The same eye symbol shimmered across the box's surface.

Hearing a thunk behind them, Katsuki turned, raising an eyebrow. Shoto had spotted a metal chest on a nearby ledge, pulling it over with the rune. He opened it, humming as he pulled out a bow. "Traveler's Bow. We'll need arrows, but it's nice to know we have a long-distance option for fighting."

"You do whatever you want," Katsuki mumbled. "I'll stick to the sword."

Without another word, they stepped into the next room. The voice that had greeted them at the beginning spoke again, sounding like it came from everywhere but very clearly coming from the person before them as the box slowly faded.

 _You have proven to_ posess _the resolve of true heroes. I am Oman Au, the creator of this trial. I am a humble monk, blessed with the sight of the Goddess Shimura and dedicated to helping those who seek to defeat the dark one._

Katsuki couldn't help his shiver.

The monk seemed to smile. _With your arrival, my duty is now fulfilled._

Its hands began to glow. _In the name of the Goddess Shimura, allow me to bestow this gift upon you..._

An orb appeared before the monk. It had a purple hue, and a symbol was inside - it looked like a pair of wings, somewhat. Distantly, Katsuki realized it must have been a crest of some sort - perhaps a symbol of this Shimura the monk spoke of?

 _This is a Spirit Orb,_ the monk continued. Said orb broke into three smaller orbs, each drifting to one of the three companions. _It is a symbol of courage given to those who complete the shrines. When you have gathered four, you may find a statue and pray before it. You may exchange the Spirit orbs for various alterations to your physical self, be it more endurance or higher resistance to attacks._

Katsuki shuddered again as the orb touched his chest. He could see the others doing the same. The orbs disappeared, seemingly absorbed into their chests.

_May Shimura smile upon you._

With that, the monk started to fade. For a moment, it looked like it was crumbling to dust, before Katsuki realized it wasn't dust - perhaps some sort of magic that had kept the monk stationary and ready for them to complete the trial after all these years. When the monk faded, the tingling began again, and Katsuki looked down at himself, realizing they were starting to disappear, too. With a bluish glow, they disappeared.

The next thing Katsuki saw was sunlight, and he blinked, realizing they were outside of the shrine once more. The sun was past its halfway point, starting its slow descent towards the horizon.

Shoto was the first to speak softly. "We should get going. It'll be night soon, and we should try to complete at least one more before it gets dark."

"We'll need to find a place to spot the other shrines," Izuku murmured softly. "I was looking at the map earlier, and there's a function that allows us to view through the lens and zoom in on distant things. We can also mark them, and chose to see the marks the others make, as well."

"The tower is high up," Katsuki stated. "And it's blue, like the two shrines. Can we warp up to it?"

"I'd assume so," Izuku nodded. "It mentioned something about a travel gate when the map was extracted."

"You two go ahead." Katsuki waved them off. "I wanna explore those ruins a bit."

"Are you sure?" Izuku bit his lip. "Shouldn't we focus on the shrines-"

"I'll be fine." Katsuki rested a hand on the hilt of his sword. "I think I saw one of the shrines that direction anyways. You two look for the other ones, and we'll meet at the old man's place by sundown. Sound good?"

His companions shared a glance but nodded after a moment.

"Good." With that, Katsuki headed off. He could hear them warping up to the tower, but didn't bother to look back.

Something had been tugging him to the temple for a while now. He couldn't explain it, and he didn't want to seem weird to the others, either. It had been hard enough not to detour to the building before they'd headed to the tower, but that didn't matter now.

In the back of his mind, Katsuki wondered if they would all stay together for the whole journey. It would slow their progress, as they would be limited if one or more of them got injured, but at the same time... If they were some ancient heroes, like the monk and the video on Shoto's Slate had implied, then it was likely they had more enemies outside of All For One - those who crawled in the shadows or served the very evil they sought to destroy. In that case, going alone would be foolish, especially since they weren't experienced in the world or their own abilities.

Speaking of abilities... He'd mentioned in the video something about Champion's Abilities. There had been four other 'tribes', as well - what sort of species would they interact with? There were no signs anywhere they'd been so far. What were their abilities like? Did the tribes have specific abilities as well, or just these four?

The questions were eating at him, but there was one above all else that he kept wondering.

_Who am I?_

His best guess was some sort of knight, likely to protect whichever of his two companions was royalty. But then what about the third? Who were they in the group?

Katsuki rubbed his forehead, sighing softly. It was no use wondering over things he had no answers to. But perhaps... Perhaps the temple would help somehow. That had to be why he was feeling that persistent tug - it was somewhere important. If not to the others, then at least to him.

Climbing the stairs, an eerie sense of calm settled over the blond, even as he passed decaying bodies of the robots - Guardians, the Slate had called them - clearly having been attacking the temple long ago, whenever they'd fallen. He ducked under a few of their spider-like legs, rust crumbling into his fingers. Some were covered with moss, as well, but none seemed to have completely fallen apart. The main body was visible, at least, if not the legs.

Katsuki paused at the large wooden doors leading into the temple. The entire left wall was nearly gone, either from age or that long-ago attack. The temple itself seemed to be fairly empty, though he spotted a room to the side with a chest inside. Opening it revealed another Traveler's Bow.

The main thing that drew his attention was the statue in the back. It was of two people, a man and a woman. The man held a sword and shield, braced against some sort of enemy, while the woman stood slightly above and behind him with her arms around his shoulders.

No, not stood - the woman had wings. Large, beautiful wings, though the left was crumbling. A shiver crawled down Katsuki's spine, and he slowly moved over to the statue.

The sun seemed to enter from a hidden spot above, shining directly onto the statue. Up close, Katsuki could see a few more features - the face of the man was sharp and steady. Determined. The woman's face was soft and gentle, a small smile gracing her face. Long hair flowed down her sides, down to her waist if Katsuki's estimates were correct.

Words were carved into the stone at the statue's feet.

_The Goddess Shimura and her first Champion._

Surprise flickered through Katsuki, though the dots did connect with that. The monk had mentioned Shimura - the woman, he assumed. Was this the statue they were meant to pray to, then?

Though some part of him felt foolish, Katsuki whispered, "Can you tell me anything? About who I am?"

To his surprise, a voice answered - behind him. "I don't think you'll get an answer."

Katsuki jumped, spinning on his heel. The old man stood a few feet away, smiling sadly up at the statue. "There was a time, long ago, when many claimed to hear the voice of the Goddess and her Champion when they prayed. This temple was said to have been the best place to hear their wisdom. Sadly, though, their voices were silenced long ago." He sat on the small set of stairs leading up to the statue. "There were many temples across the land, you see. But when that evil you saw at the castle appeared, it destroyed all of them. This is the last one. It's now referred to as the Temple of Time - it is the oldest, and has withstood eras of attacks."

Katsuki slowly sat beside him. "Do you believe in them?"

"Yes. I'm one of the few left." The blond smiled sadly. "There was a story - of Shimura and her first Champion. Would you like to hear it?"

Katsuki nodded silently.

"They said the Champion had been imprisoned for a long, long time. Some lord had accused him of a crime he did not do, and so he was left to rot. And yet he did not break, did not turn into a raving madman like many did back then. When the Demon King attacked their lands in search of the ultimate power, known as the Triforce, they asked him, their greatest warrior, to lead them in battle. He agreed as he had long been a protector of the sacred power the Demon King now sought.

"Days before the Demon King reached their kingdom, a giant bird soared down from the heavens. A woman rode upon its back. Many say her beauty was unparalleled - and so was her wisdom. She explained that she was Shimura, a lesser Goddess who had been sent on behalf of the gods to aid the humans in their war against the Demon King. The Champion agreed to be her warrior, and was gifted a divine blade - the Master Sword."

The name sent a pang through Katsuki. Some part of him whispered, _I know that sword._

"While the Master Sword was powerful, it was not at its full potential. Shimura told her Champion it needed to be reforged by human hands - one who had known suffering, yet still fought to protect the ones he loved. And her Champion did just that.

"With the blade made anew, the Champion faced the Demon King in battle head-on. It was a distraction, a sacrifice to allow his people time to run to safety. Shimura had carved a piece of land and sent it to the heavens, along with the Triforce, to a place the Demon King would never reach. Her Champion was fatally wounded, and as he lay dying in her arms, Shimura made a vow: she and her Champion would be reborn time and time again to face the Demon King together. She shed her immortal form, and when the Demon King rose again, she and her Champion, both mortal, faced him and defeated him. With his last shred of power, the Demon King cursed them - they, and anyone with the blood of the Goddess and spirit of the Champion. And so the cycle began, a neverending evil plaguing the lands time and time again."

Katsuki was silent for a long while. Finally, he asked, "One of us has the blood of the Goddess and the other the spirit of the Champion, don't we?"

The old man nodded solemnly.

"Then who is the third?"

The old man let out a long sigh. "In one of their battles, the Goddess and Champion found themselves overwhelmed. So the Champion split himself in two - one gifted with strength, the other gifted with magic. The three were able to defeat the Demon King, but the Champion's spirit never reconnected. Even now, it is split in two."

They sat in silence for a while before the old man stood with a soft grunt, patting his shoulder gently. "You are a great hero, Katsuki."

He left the younger blond to his thoughts, exiting the temple as the sky stained crimson with the sun's descent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a like or comment if you enjoyed - it meants the world to me <3  
> Also please let me know if you find any errors! I'm a sleep-deprived working student and as hard as I try I still make tons of mistakes........


	4. Shoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shoto discovers more about the old man - and about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out, I had most of this written but then life got out of hand with school and family/friends and ugh. But here it is!

Shoto and Izuku split up not far from the temple. The former had volunteered to head for the shrine in the snowy area, while the latter would head for the shrine on the far edge of the Plateau.

Upon reaching the snowy area's entrance, however, Shoto discovered an issue.

Beyond the gate, the temperature dropped so fast that he would die within minutes with his current clothing. His Slate had given a hint: special clothing or foods could give him a mild cold resistance, enough to make it to the shrine and warp back to another spot. He'd found numerous Spicy Peppers growing by the gate, but with no way to cook them, he'd set out to find somewhere to make a fire.

Somewhere along the way, Shoto had managed to find the old man's cottage. Said man was nearby, hacking away at a tree with an old ax. He lifted a hand in greeting as the younger male approached, halting his work for the time being.

"So we meet again," the blond chimed, giving a lopsided smile as he leaned his ax against the tree. "Something I can help you with?"

"One of the shrines is in an area I can't get to," Shoto explained. "It's too cold for me. I was wondering if you knew any recipes I could cook to get me through there?"

The old man gave a hum, tilting his head. "Well now... I actually came up with a recipe recently, but I seem to have forgotten the last ingredient. I'll make you a deal: if you can figure out what that third ingredient is, I'll give you my Warm Doublet. That way, you won't have to worry about the effects of your food wearing off, and you won't have to cook things again and again."

Shoto's brows raised slightly. "You'd do that?"

"Well, an old-timer like me isn't going to be venturing into that area for more than a few minutes at a time, so the cooking is more than enough for me. But I have a feeling you'll be encountering more cold areas, so it makes things less of a hassle."

"Alright. What was the recipe?"

"It's called a Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry. Spicy Peppers, meat, and... something. I'm far too forgetful in my old age."

Seafood, huh? So he'd just have to find some fish and hunt down some sort of animal for the meat. There was a cooking pot nearby, too, so he could return here, cook the meal, and give it to the old man for inspection.

"You know, though," the blond continued, leaving the tree he'd been chopping and moving over to his cottage. He sat on a log by the fire with a small grunt. "You three are... quite curious. Perhaps there might be yet another solution."

The dilemma is there: risk revealing who he suspected they were, or miss out on whatever information the old man was about to reveal?

Shoto makes up his mind, and sits across the fire from the man. "What would the third solution be?"

"Long ago, many in the land possessed magic." The man added a few logs and sticks to his fire, dusting off his hands. "Many wondrous gifts, like healing, increased speed or intellect, and a vast range of others. Over the generations, these gifts started to flicker out as the races made advancements that negated the need for their magic. But a few bloodlines remained rich with the ability - and over time, those very specific abilities grew. The handful of people that now possess magic are said to be able to wield nearly anything. Raw, unfiltered magic to be shaped to the user's will."

Shoto kept his face and voice neutral. "And you suspect one of us may possess such a gift?"

"Do not mistake me for a fool." The blond nodded to Shoto's Slate. "Too many things line up for you three to not be very, very important. In all my years on this Plateau, I pondered what that sealed doorway held. When it revealed the three of you, and you began exploring as if you knew nothing about how life itself works, something began to click." The old man shifted. "None of you have any memories past waking up in that place, do you?"

He's conflicted between feeling stunned and wary. For a forgetful man who couldn't seem to piece together that the 'seafood' in his dish was a fish, this... This was quite the leap to take on very, very observant clues.

Shoto doesn't have the chance to respond before he's given a mild heart attack as a wolf trots out from the cottage. The young male startles, falling back in his haste to move away. Though he doesn't know _why_ he gets this reaction to the thing, some part of him - perhaps the instincts left from his past life - screams danger.

The old man merely laughs. "Do not be frightened. This is merely a companion of mine." Indeed, the wolf trots to the man's side, sitting by the fire. "He was injured by a gang of Bokoblins in the forest on the other side of the Plateau. They ruined his leg, but with infinite time on my hands, I fashioned something for him."

Shoto slowly returns to his previous position, inspecting the wolf. His right hind leg was lacking fur; in place of that was a contraption made of wood and cloth. It bent in the same spot as the other leg, likely allowing the same range of motion. At first glance, it was hard to tell the thing was injured at all. It had walked so smoothly.

"...How does it work...?"

"It's a bit complicated. But his leg wasn't actually fully removed; he can still feel anything that happens there. The limb is more of a protective covering, so to speak. The cloth keeps the more sensitive and fragile remaining parts of the leg safe while the wood acts as support. Without it, his hind leg would be too weak to sustain his weight."

"So it's like a brace," Shoto murmured, moving a bit closer to inspect it. The man nodded.

"Yes, 'brace' is a good word for it, I suppose."

The wolf studies him as intensely as Shoto studies it. The thing is by no means small; laying down, it spans from Shoto's calves to around his shoulders. Standing up, he has no doubt it would be at about hip or waist level. Despite the very obvious size advantage, it doesn't snarl or act aggressive - merely curious.

Like a human.

Shoto pushes the thought away, turning back to the old man. Their earlier conversation still lingers in the air - but he pushes that to the side, too. "If one of us were to possess magic... How would we access it?"

He gets a small head tilt, along with a crinkle to the man's eyes - as if he knows Shoto is avoiding his earlier subject. "Many say it's different for everyone. Should you indeed have raw magic, you would merely have to envision what you wish to happen. Flames, ice, a transformation of the body... Of course, the more extreme you attempt to take things, especially at an early stage, the more energy you consume. That is what many refer to as a burnout - using all of the magic without allowing it to replenish. At that point, your body would force itself into a deep sleep to recover that energy. You would become extremely vulnerable."

So starting extremely small would be crucial. If he even had magic, he had a feeling a burnout would come all too soon.

"Thank you," Shoto said softly, standing. "I should get going."

"Before you go." The blond stood as well, and so did the wolf. "Bring my companion with you. He will guide you back to the gate if anything happens."

Shoto blinked in surprise. The man seemed very eager to help them in any way possible. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." A small smile shot his way. "You are the first human company I have had in decades. Taking a few extra safeties will harm no one."

Shoto bowed his head. "Thank you. Again."

The wolf follows at his side as Shoto retraces his steps, and Shoto is a little late in realizing he had not asked about his name. He studies the wolf curiously; it trots ahead a bit, then looks back at him curiously. Shoto tilts his head, and, feeling extremely foolish, he asks, "Were you once human?"

The wolf blinks at him, amusement sparkling in his eyes.

"Were you able to use magic and shifted to this form?" Shoto continues toward the gate, but keeps his focus on the wolf. He gets a low rumble in answer. "Why didn't you shift back? Is it because you got hurt?"

This time, the wolf's head dips in a nod. Sensing he likely won't learn much more from a creature that can't talk - at least, to a degree where he could understand it - Shoto leaves the subject there. It is very odd, though - a man who supposedly spent his life on the Plateau knowing as many things as he does that seem to be aimed to help them in their quest. He'd known about the shines and the Tower, along with their Slates.

And he had a wolf that had once been human as a companion.

As they reach the gate into the snow-covered area, Shoto debates the merits of instead going to find a fish and making the meal the old man had described. There was no guarantee he even could use magic, so if he went in without extra precautions and found he had nothing, it would be a very stupid end to his life.

Still, he has the wolf with him, so perhaps a mistake here or there might not be fatal.

Shoto takes a slow breath, then steps beyond the gate. The temperature drops almost instantly, and he stays as close to the exit as he can, closing his eyes and focusing.

The old man said any current magic users could manifest it as whatever they wished, so he pictured a flame. Shoto figured perhaps he wouldn't need to make an _actual_ flame, but merely use the magic in order to raise his body temperature long enough to make it to the shrine and get back out.

Nothing happens for several moments, and Shoto is about to turn and figure out another option when warmth blossoms from his chest and spreads throughout his body. It makes him shiver in delight, and he opens his eyes to see his skin seems to be glowing softly.

The wolf nudges his leg, and with a smile, Shoto continues onwards. In the back of his mind, he makes sure to remember to catch a fish and find some meat to cook the old man his dish as thanks.

-

The Cryonis trial really isn't that difficult. It was more about figuring out the best place for each block before continuing (and getting rid of the Guardian Scout along the way). When Shoto emerges, he finds the wolf waiting patiently for him, tail curled around his paws.

A beep sounds from Shoto's Slate, and he flips to the map to see two new blue icons have appeared. Katsuki's icon is heading for the old man's cabin while Izuku's is already there, so he can only assume both have already completed their respective shrines.

"Let's go meet up with them," Shoto says to the wolf, and they trek back down the mountain. Having cleared most of the Bokoblins along the way, the descent is far easier, though he can feel his energy draining steadily due to keeping himself warm. The wolf diligently stays by his side, ready to help him if he needs it.

The sun is setting when they return to the old man's cabin. Shoto smells the food long before he sees his three companions in the firelight, and despite the exhaustion weighing him down, he can't help but smile to himself. There's a sense of belonging that he just can't quite describe - he feels at home with these people.

Izuku lights up when he sees Shoto. "Oh, good! You're back! Did you get a new rune? Katsuki and I both did!"

Shoto nods, sitting beside the other teen and accepting a bowl of stew from the old man graciously. "The rune is called Cryonis. We can create up to three blocks of ice on any body of water."

Izuku grins in excitement. "My shrine had the Stasis rune. We can freeze inanimate objects for a short period of time, as well as build up momentum by hitting them while the rune is active. I made a boulder go flying!"

"Mine was bombs." Shoto turns to Katsuki. He's quieter than before, picking at his food. "Pretty simple. We can summon round or square ones and use the slate to detonate them."

Izuku doesn't seem to notice the shift in Katsuki's mood, turning to the old man. "Well, we finished all four shrines. So... About that paraglider..."

The old man laughed softly. "Calm yourself, young one. I'm nearly finished crafting the third one. They will be done by morning." He smiled gently. "It's been a long day for all of you. I'm sure you'd like to get some rest." He eyed Shoto. "Especially you."

Izuku blinks, turning to Shoto. "What's he talking about?"

Shoto hesitates, then admits, "I have magic."

Izuku and Katsuki stare at him in surprise.

"So far, it's pretty weak, but I was able to keep myself warm in the area up there." Shoto nods to the mountains. "And according to him, if I train enough with it, I can do whatever I want with it."

His words are met with silence. Until, "You're kidding me. Halfie here gets magic and we got nothin'."

Katsuki's incredulous words are met with laughter, and the blond sputters. "This isn't something to laugh about, damnit!" He pauses, then finally concedes with a small snort. "Fine, fine... That's actually pretty cool."

"It drains a lot of my energy, though," Shoto admitted. "Which is another reason I need to practice with it. Honestly, I'm surprised I made it back here without passing out."

"It was the food," the old man states cheerfully, and they all laugh again.

As they settle in for the night, Shoto hears the old man moving between them, along with the scratch of a pencil against paper. He's too exhausted to open his eyes, though, and he thinks nothing of it as he falls asleep.

He's roused by Izuku, and alarm flashes through Shoto when he sees the concern on Izuku's face. He finds the words to ask what's wrong, but Izuku beats him to it, handing him a piece of paper.

_There is much yet for you to learn._

_Meet me where the four shines intersect._

_-Toshinori_

And for the life of him, the name Toshinori sends a shiver down Shoto's spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed, it really helps out :)


	5. Izuku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes learn of what happened one hundred years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Botw’s music. Bruh. I’ve been looping parts of it for d a y s.  
> Anyways, sorry this took a long time to come out! If you spot any mistakes, please please PLEASE tell me, this was finished on my iPad and I don’t have any sort of grammar detector installed yet!

It takes a few moments of scanning the map to figure out ' _where the four shrines intersect_ '. They'd all gone quiet when they'd realized the old man - Toshinori, Izuku had to correct himself - had been talking about the temple near the center of the Plateau.

The wolf was still with them, waiting patiently as they gathered the few possessions they had and set off. He kept pace with them, trotting at Izuku's side on quiet paws.

It didn't take long to reach the temple. Izuku found himself holding his breath as he looked up at the decaying structure; they had curled around to the front of the temple, finding it almost disrespectful to enter through the gap in the wall. He could see no sign of Toshinori within, though to his surprise, the statue inside was glowing softly.

As they enter the temple, Katsuki speaks softly. "I actually went here before going to the bomb shrine. The old man was here, too. He told me about the Goddess and her Champion."

Izuku and Shoto remain silent, and he continues. "Shimura was a messenger of the gods, meant to prepare the humans for the wrath of the Demon King. Instead, she chose to fight with them. She chose a human as her Champion, and together they sealed the Demon King. But he cursed them to fight in a neverending cycle. So Shimura shed her immortal body, and from then on she and the Champion were reborn together."

The blond looks at them, adding softly, "The old man said the Champion's spirit split into two pieces. One of strength. One of magic."

Izuku does not look away from the statue. He speaks quietly. "And you suspect we are those three."

"I don't see any other alternative." Katsuki crossed his arms. "That... _thing_ around the castle is clearly the Demon King reincarnated. It would explain why we were in the Shrine, because the kingdom couldn't risk losing us. And it would explain why the old man knows about us. He said he's one of the few humans left who believes in the old legends."

"You're quite the observant one." They all tense and look to the ceiling. From part of the crumbling area, Toshinori stands, hands clasped behind his back. "I recommend you pray at the statue," he adds. "There is a ladder on the side of the temple. I will be waiting up here when you are ready." He turned and disappeared from sight.

Izuku desperately wants to rush up and confront him. Ask who he is. How he knows about them. Why Izuku feels safe with him - why he feels that sense of _home_ that not even his two companions can give.

Silently, he kneels before the statue. After a moment, he hears his companions do the same. Even the wolf sits, tail curling around his paws.

They all hear it at the same time.

_You who have overcome the trials and gained the Spirit Orbs... Tell me, what is your wish?_

Izuku shivered slightly. It was the gentle voice of a woman; motherly and kind, it soothed his heart and mind.

_I can help you in many ways... I can increase your endurance, or strengthen your body... And for the magic-user, I can increase his capacity for magic itself._

Izuku hears Shoto inhale softly.

_Tell me, what is your wish?_

Izuku debates for a few moments. Then, he puts one thought in the forefront of his mind: /I wish to become stronger./

 _Very well_. Their Spirit Orbs appeared before them, swirling together before glowing brightly. When the glow faded, three new shapes floated before them.

In front of Izuku floated a heart. The materials gleamed in the morning light, sending soft beams of red light dancing throughout the temple. Katsuki had an object that looked like a seed or a teardrop; emerald light sparkled along the ground. And in front of Shoto drifted something Izuku could not quite describe.

As the light caught the sapphire surface, the form seemed to shift. First, it was a snowflake, then a solid mass of gemstone. Next, it took the shape of a flame, then a leaf, then flowing water. Shoto seemed entranced by it, wide-eyed in awe.

The three vessels drifted to them, and Izuku shivered once more as he felt the newfound power rush through his body. Shimura's voice returned, fading even as it began.

_Go, and bring peace to Hyrule..._

It was several moments before any of them could stand. The wolf gently pressed himself against Izuku's side, helping to support him as his legs wobbled.

Katsuki was the first to whisper, "What was that?"

"I'm... not entirely sure," Izuku admitted, resting a hand on his chest. "But... We can figure it out later."

He leads the way to the ladder. His companions follow silently.

Toshinori waits for them in the small room under the steeple. He's facing the castle, and for once, his hood is down. His hair blows softly in the wind as they stand behind him silently.

"I have waited a long time for this day," the blond murmurs. He turns to them, smiling sadly. "I only wish this task did not fall on your young shoulders."

Katsuki speaks first. “Who are you?”

Toshinori’s form shimmers, then changes. He stands straight as opposed to hunched over, and he looks more like a young man in his prime. Regal clothing wraps around his body, and a crown rests delicately on his head.

“My name is Toshinori Yagi. I was the last King of Hyrule.”

None of them speak. In the light of the rising sun, Toshinori seems to glow. His eyes trailed over his shoulder, looking out to the distant castle beyond. “It is a kingdom that fell to ruin long ago, due to the entity you see around the castle. It was merciless; even now, one hundred years later, many still feel the sting of that pure annihilation.”

Shoto is the first to speak, voice barely audible. “What happened?”

“We had been preparing for All For One’s return for several years. Around ten years before it happened, we had discovered ancient technology - things referred to as the Divine Beasts and Guardians. They were meant to protect us... Alas, All For One came before we were ready - and took control of those defenses.” Grief shone in the king’s eyes. “Each of the four Divine Beasts were piloted by a Champion from each race. They didn’t know the Divine Beasts were corrupted until it was too late... None of them stood a chance.

“Looking back now, I suspect that had been its plan all along - to wait until it could separate them... and then destroy them all at once. The Divine Beasts and the Guardians went on a rampage, targeting the very people they had once been meant to protect. There’s no doubt you’ve already seen some of the effects the Guardians had on this Plateau.”

“What stopped them?” Izuku took a tiny step forward. Toshinori had avoided looking him in the eye, but now, he did. His eyes were a clear, stunning blue, and Izuku found himself mesmerized as the king spoke softly.

“You did.”

“...What...?”

Toshinori smiled wryly, turning away once more. “Katsuki has already explained to you the legend of Shimura and her Champion. By now, I’m sure it’s clear to all three of you who is who: Katsuki, the embodiment of the hero’s strength; Shoto, the embodiment of the hero’s magic; and you, Izuku, the descendant of the Goddess herself.”

Izuku feels Shoto’s hand rest on his back. He hadn’t realized he was swaying.

“Long ago, one of Shimura’s descendants established Hyrule officially. From then on, Shimura’s descendants were associated with the royal line. Her power would emerge every time the world needed it, indicated by the mark of the Goddess on the chosen child’s hand. So too would the Champion be found in this manner.”

As he speaks, a bright light flashes, and Izuku gasps. When his vision adjusts again, he realizes where the flash had come from. On the back of his hand is a triangle, split into four pieces. The bottom left is still glowing softly. He glances over at Katsuki; the bottom right is glowing; and for Shoto, the middle is glowing.

“The mark you see is known as the Triforce. It is the ultimate power that created the entire world; each of you has pieces of it. Long ago, All For One stole the Triforce of Power - something that aided his quest in corrupting the Divine Beasts. As you know, Shoto’s piece is magic; Katsuki’s is Courage; and yours, Izuku, is known as Wisdom. However, alongside the power of the Triforce, you also have the divine power of Shimura - the power of One For All.”

Izuku looks up from his mark. Toshinori is smiling sadly. “One For All lies dormant in most generations of the royal family. We had been preparing for All For One’s return... ever since your birth, Izuku. Ever since we saw that mark on your hand.”

A lump forms in Izuku’s throat, and Toshinori sighed quietly. “I’m sure you’ve figured it out by now, Izuku. What with that sacred power running through the royal family... Myself as the last king of Hyrule... And why I remained on this Plateau as a spirit to watch over the Shrine of Resurrection, waiting for the day you would awaken.”

Toshinori bowed his head. “You are my son, Izuku. One hundred years ago, I was foolish... Foolish enough that I nearly lost you. That all of Hyrule nearly lost you. All of you.”

“...What happened?” Izuku whispered. Toshinori looked down.

“You had been struggling to unlock One For All. You had been away with the Champions, attempting to awaken it... That is when All For One struck. It’s also why we were unable to warn the Champions before they boarded their Divine Beasts... We were too busy fighting the Guardians to realize they had arrived... and were consequently slaughtered.

“The three of you had attempted to make your way back to the castle, to regroup. Along the way, you were caught between a group of Guardians... They were overwhelming. The three of you went down... But somehow, the power of One For All was released. Enough to deactivate a great number of Guardians - and allow the Sheikah to bring you to the Shrine of Resurrection and bring you back from the brink of death.”

Izuku sought Shoto’s hand this time. Perhaps Shimura had been looking out for them after all - perhaps she was the cause of One For All’s activation.

“Many of the Guardians remain decayed where they were deactivated a century ago, including those around this temple. It has been a sickening reminder all these years... But also a point of determination.”

All three of their Slates chimed. Toshinori lifted his chin. “I entered all three paragliders into your Slates last night. They will return to your inventory even if you lose them, and they will automatically repair themselves in the event of damage. The three of you are now ready to leave the Plateau... and face what is beyond.

“Before anything else, I would strongly recommend you go to Kakariko Village. Your Slates will lead the way. There is an old companion of mine there; he will guide you in the right direction of righting the wrongs we made all those years ago. I am certain there will be many who will be eager to aid you in your quest... However, I must caution you. There are many who would also gladly harm all of you, especially in this more vulnerable state. They are agents of All For One. Trust few with your true identities, and no matter what, you must stay together.”

Toshinori’s form began to shimmer again, and tears formed in his eyes. “I only wish I could have prevented all of this long ago. I wish this task didn’t have to fall on your young shoulders... But there is no choice. I beg you... Save Hyrule.”

Then he was gone.

Izuku suddenly felt very empty.


	6. Katsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes leave the Plateau, and begin to discover the world below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> largely a filler chapter with a bit of backstory into the main kingdom this chapter, lots of dialogue n stuff  
> things should start picking up next chapter (more characters, tho there will be a bit more backstory) so stay tuned!

Katsuki leaves his two companions alone for a while, climbing back down the side of the temple. The wolf lifts its head when his feet touch the ground, and the blond studies it for a while, then sits, leaning against the wall. The wolf seemed far too intelligent to be normal.  
  
"You were a human. With magic, like Shoto."  
  
The wolf blinks once.  
  
"Were you cursed?"  
  
The wolf blinks twice, and Katsuki realizes exactly what it means - one for yes, two for no. Clever, considering the wolf couldn't speak yet had the mind of a human.  
  
"So you did this to yourself?" One blink, and Katsuki tilts his head. "Was it for the old man? To keep him company?"  
  
The wolf looks away, and Katsuki decides to switch the subject. "Are you going to come with us?" One blink. "Then we'll need a name for you. Do you have one?"  
  
The wolf pauses, then stands, pawing at the ground. Katsuki peers down curiously, and to his amazement, the wolf is digging letters into the dust of the rubble.  
  
 _Naomasa_.  
  
"Naomasa? That's your name?" The wolf sits, looking quite proud of himself, and Katsuki can't help but smile softly. "Well, it's nice to know."  
  
Naomasa turns his head towards the roof, and Katsuki's smile fades. "Did you know the old man was a ghost?"  
  
Naomasa blinks, ears flattening. Katsuki hesitates, then reaches out, petting his fur softly. "Well, I know we're not the same, but... At least you won't be alone."  
  
Naomasa nuzzles into his hand, then shifts, pressing against his side and resting his head on his paws. Katsuki keeps petting him, noting just how soft and well-groomed the fur was. Toshinori really must have cared for his companion, it seemed.  
  
The sun is a bit higher in the sky when Naomasa's ears perk up, and Katsuki sees his two companions descending the ladder moments later. Izuku still looks conflicted as to how he should feel, while Shoto raises an eyebrow at Katsuki and Naomasa. The blond stands, crossing his arms. "So...?"  
  
Izuku takes a shaky breath, squaring his shoulders. "We should get going. To Kakariko."  
  
Katsuki nods faintly, glancing down at Naomasa. "He's coming with."  
  
"What do you mean?" Shoto frowns faintly, and Katsuki scoffs. "You're not the only one that figured out he's far more intelligent than even a trained wolf would be. Not only did he know Toshinori - probably pretty well, too - but he's a magic-user. He might be able to help you with yours. And his name is Naomasa."  
  
"How did you-" Katsuki simply points to the name on the ground, and Shoto sighs in defeat. "Fine. But how will we get him off the Plateau? We can't exactly put him in a bag and fly down with him."  
  
Naomasa growls softly, and they turn to him. A mark on his forehead, previously hidden by his fur, glowed a soft purple - and the wolf suddenly vanished.  
  
The three of them stare at the spot in shock before a bark catches their attention. Naomasa is sitting on the grass a few meters away, giving them a _look_ that dares any of them to question it - or his ability to keep up.  
  
"...That's how," Katsuki grins.  
  
-  
  
Paragliding is both terrifying and amazing all at once.  
  
The first initial jump off the Plateau's walls makes Katsuki's heart leap into his throat, but the paraglider appears in his hands, and his rapid descent turns into a gentle glide. It's surprisingly easy to control, taking only small movements to adjust his course to land on the stone below. Closer inspection leads him to wonder if said stone was actually a road, but a beep on his Slate distracts him. He pulls it out as his companions land, Naomasa appearing beside them.  
  
The map has expanded out to its limits. A small label designates the Plateau, but on the top, a large label stretches across the screen.  
  
 _Hyrule Kingdom_.  
  
It sends a shiver down Katsuki's spine, and from the way the other two pull out their Slates, he can tell they have similar alterations to their maps.  
  
"It's so big," Izuku whispers, staring down at the map. "And Kakariko is so far away..."  
  
"On the bright side, it seems there's plenty of actual roads and paths leading across the kingdom," Shoto commented. "And there was a tower in that direction, right? So we should be able to fill in at least a little bit more of the map that way."  
  
As they discuss, Katsuki notices Naomasa has trotted off to a patch of trees nearby. Curious, he follows the wolf over a small hill, pausing at what he finds. Naomasa simply sits and looks back at him, again having this sense of pride about him.  
  
In the clearing below are four horses. Three looked to be adults while one seems a bit younger, and all of them have different colorings. There's a horse with a solid gray coat and a white mane, a black horse with brown spots and mane, and the youngest is gray with black spots.  
  
It's the fourth horse that makes Katsuki pause, though. Standing slightly apart from the others, the brown mare is sniffing at an apple tree. Her mane, tail, and a small bit around each hoof is a pure white, and in the sunlight, it almost seems to glow.  
  
The horses all seem to notice him, because they startle and take off at a light gallop away from him. All except for that brown mare; her head swings around, searching for her companions, before noticing him. She nickers softly, then makes her way closer, sniffing at him. Katsuki stays frozen until Naomasa nuzzles his hand; after a moment, he lifts it, reaching out slowly to the mare. She sniffs at his fingers, then presses against in, staring him in the eye.  
  
Trusting him completely.  
  
"Katsuki?" He turns a bit, spotting Izuku and Shoto making their way over. The mare seems uneasy at their approach, shifting her weight from side to side. He turns back to her, brushing a hand along her neck. "It's alright," Katsuki murmurs, holding her gaze. "It's okay."  
  
The mare settles, and Izuku comes closer, gaping. "Wait... How did you..."  
  
"I dunno," Katsuki mutters, continuing to run his hand along the mare's neck. "Naomasa led me over here, and something just... Said she was the one."  
  
Shoto tilts his head. "Do you think it has to do with the whole cycle of reincarnation? Maybe one of your past lives had a similar horse."  
  
"Don't go down that rabbit hole. We won't stop wondering." Katsuki took a breath, then steadied his hands along the mare's shoulders and pushed up. It was a bit awkward, but he managed to swing his leg across, settling after a bit of shifting. All the while, the mare remained steady beneath him, turning her head slightly to look at him. Katsuki pats her neck a bit, then looks to his companions. "There were a few more horses with her. They'll probably be our quickest way of traveling, so it might be a good idea to see if you can get one."  
  
It takes half an hour for all of them to not only figure out they have to sneak up behind the horses as to not startle them, but that they had to hold on long enough to calm the horse and not get flung off. On the bright side, it's an amusing sight for Katsuki, watching them fall over and over again.  
  
Eventually, they _also_ figure out the horses know they're coming and give up on that group. Naomasa hunts down another few, and thankfully, this time they're both able to calm their horses enough to stay on. Izuku ends up with a mare that is a light brown with white spots and a black mane; Shoto returns with a pure-black stallion. The latter seems a bit more feisty, but Shoto refuses to let the horse win, and it ultimately gives in, following his command.  
  
With Naomasa jogging at their sides, they set off into a trot, then speed up to a gallop once they've adjusted to actually _riding_ the horses. It takes a bit of back-and-forth to figure out which path they actually need to take, as there were multiple branches to it, but they eventually find the one that seems to lead towards the tower, the two mountains beyond, and more importantly: to Kakariko.  
  
They find a shrine along the way, and it's at this point Izuku has a realization: "Wait. If there are shrines and towers all over the kingdom, and we can warp to them... All we'd have to do is make the initial trip to an area once by horse or on foot, and then we have an instant travel spot, right?"  
  
"...Huh. I didn't think of it like that," Shoto commented, blinking in surprise. "I suppose it would make sense, though, even in the context of the ancient Sheikah that built them. I get the feeling they were close with the royal family, so it would make sense for them to have ways to get across the kingdom instantaneously to deal with anything that might have come up. Especially with the Divine Beasts."  
  
Izuku winces. "Let's... not talk about those. Not yet. I just... I feel guilty. Knowing there were people who agreed to fight alongside us... Only to die when the time came."  
  
"Don't think of it that way," Katsuki said sharply, looking back at the shorter boy. "They were probably prepared to give their lives from the very start, just like a lot of people were. Things like this don't come without casualties. It won't this time, either. We have to be ready for that." He managed a half-grin. "Besides, that just means we have a lot more ass to kick for their sakes."  
  
Izuku still seems hesitant, but nods. After completing the shrine, they continue along the path - and not far from the shrine, they spot their first traveler.  
  
The man is peering over the edge of the bridge, looking at something downstream. He turns a bit as they approach, looking curious. "Hello there. Haven't seen you in this area."  
  
"We're travelers," Shoto spoke up smoothly. Within an instant, he seemed to be an entirely different person - more formal and dignified. "Actually, we could use some help. Our camp was recently raided, and most of our supplies were stolen. Is there anywhere nearby where we can restock?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. The Dueling Peaks Stables are just down the road." The man pointed in the direction they were headed. "Just follow this path along the river and turn left over the next bridge. You can't miss it."  
  
"Thank you. It's much appreciated."  
  
"No problem! We all have to look out for one another, ya know?" The man frowned, looking back at whatever had caught his attention before they approached. "Especially with those things everywhere."  
  
They followed his gaze, and Katsuki stilled when he saw the decayed Guardian on a small sandbar some ways down the river.  
  
"My grandfather lived in Central Hyrule when it happened," the man explained sadly. "His farm was completely destroyed. So were a lot of the small towns up there. There's still a lot of Guardians wandering that area, so be careful if you ever go near it."  
  
The three shared a glance. Katsuki spoke next. "How far did they get?"  
  
"I dunno about other areas, but here, there were a lot of 'em. Down by Fort Hateno, there's a whole field of the rustbuckets. No one knows exactly why they all shut down, but everyone's glad they did. Hateno was unharmed, so a lot of people fled there after that first wave of attacks."  
  
"First?"  
  
"Oh, there have been smaller ones. Not from the Guardians. From various monsters, really. Those are probably what stole your stuff; Bokoblins and Moblins love waiting off the paths to ambush travelers. Only fools travel without weapons these days."  
  
Katsuki frowned to himself, but nodded. "Thanks for the info."  
  
"No problem. Just stay safe, y'hear?"  
  
With a quick farewell, they continued on their way. A while down the path, Izuku spoke up. "Bokoblins were those little pig things, but what are Moblins?"  
  
"I dunno," Katsuki grunted, "but we'll have to be careful. The Plateau seemed to be fairly safe, but there's no telling what we'll find in the main kingdom."  
  
"At least we know there's still civilization," Shoto pointed out. "The Stables, Kakariko, and Hateno. If nothing else, they're all places we could rest at. And if there's one stable, there's probably more all over. That'll help if we get to places where our horses can't go."  
  
"Plus we could get information about the area," Izuku agreed, humming. "That guy seemed to buy the traveler story, so most other people might."  
  
"We can't always rely on that," Katsuki warned. "Some of these people are also travelers. That means we'll have to come up with a solid story. I'm not saying they'll talk with others about the weird new people, but they might, and we need to keep our story straight to keep people from being suspicious. I doubt anyone would believe our real identities, and it'd probably be dangerous to use them anyways. It's only natural the royal family would have enemies aside from All For One, and they may still be around even now."  
  
"That's true," Izuku murmured. "So... To be safe, we'll only use our real identities with people we know are safe. Like the Sheikah, and any elders of the other races that knew us back then."  
  
"Even then, they may still harbor some ill will towards us," Shoto commented. "Especially people who were close with the Champions."  
  
Izuku winced. "Yeah... We'll just have to be careful."  
  
As they continued down the path, a chill crept up Katsuki's spine, and he twisted to look behind them. Even Naomasa paused, looking at him in confusion.  
  
"Katsuki?" Izuku frowned at him in worry. "Is everything alright?"  
  
"...Yeah. Sorry. Thought I saw something." Katsuki waved them off, and they continued.  
  
But he couldn't shake the feeling someone - or something - had been watching them just then.


	7. Shoto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three make way to Kakariko, meeting a few people along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this to include the dialogue you’d get with Impa, but I’m gonna be honest these past few weeks have been stressful and this was as far as I could manage for this chapter. Hoping I’ll be able to get another chapter out before Christmas, though!

A few minutes down the path, they come across another Tower across the river. Thankfully, there are stones that form a rough bridge between the two sides. Shoto volunteers to cross over, amused when Naomasa trotted over to follow him.

Swinging to the ground and being assured from Izuku they’d keep an eye on his horse, Shoto moves to the rocks, surprised to find a flower poking up from the stone. When he gets close, though, the flower disappears in a puff of petals. Another appears on one of the rocks, and he raises an eyebrow in confusion.

The rocks are just far enough that jumping would be dangerous, so he kneels by the water, sticking his hand in it. It’s cold but not unbearably so; still, he knows that having wet clothes will be unpleasant, so he tugs off his shirt and boots, leaving his pants to provide some sense of protection.

Shoto startles when they disappear in a blue fuzz, then remembers there was an ‘armor’ tab on the Slate and figures they were being stored their. Either way, he’s stalling at this point and it’s not helping.

Taking a breath, he wades into the shallow area of the river towards the first rock. It’s about knee height when he reaches it, though he’s more curious about the flower as he climbs onto it. Once more, it disappears, popping onto the next rock, and he narrows his eyes this time.

He continues the process of going from rock to rock, watching the flower disappear and reappear until he reaches the other side. The flower changes color, disappearing once more as he approaches, but something appears in its place.

“Yahaha! You found me!” The creature blinks at him curiously. “Huh? You’re not Hestu... Well, if you see him, give this to him, okay?”

A seed appeared before the creature, then disappeared into blue fuzz again. Curious, Shoto pulled out his Slate. 

_[Item discovered: {Korok Seed}]_

_[This small seed was given to you by a Korok. It has a distinct smell. If you gather a bunch of them, you never know what may happen...]_

_[New creature discovered: {Korok}]_

_[These creatures of the forest are scattered throughout Hyrule. They are playful and often hide behind puzzles or odd land formations.]_

“...huh.” Shoto hummed to himself, looking at the creature again. “You’re a Korok?”

“Yaha!”

“Well... nice to meet you.”

“Buh-bye!” The Korok gives a little wave as he continues over to the Tower. Naomasa continues at his side, sniffing the air curiously. Shoto glances down at him. “Enemies?”

The wolf’s tail lashes, and he trots ahead of Shoto, which is enough of an answer for him. He has an ax and a few random weapons from the Shrines on the Plateau, but he definitely wasn’t anywhere near combat ready.

Thankfully, there was a large chunk of rock leaning against the Tower, making his climb a bit easier. He did notice the enemy camp nearby, though none of them seemed to notice him. (He did note, with equal amounts curiosity and dread, that there was a blue Bokoblin among the group of red ones.)

There was a faint breeze on top of the Tower, and Shoto took a moment to look around as he moved to the terminal in the center of the platform. Most of the area nearby was plains with bunches of trees scattering the land; a few rivers zigzagged throughout. He could spot a few more enemy camps from this height, but everything seemed... strangely peaceful.

His Slate gave a beep as he placed it in the terminal, and he stood back as the Tower distilled the map. His gaze drifted across the river, to his two companions. 

It felt a great bit like they’d just been shoved into all of this without a say otherwise. Yet... For him, at least, it gave him a sense of purpose, rather than just wandering aimlessly with no memories. Perhaps along the way, they could figure more things out. He’d noticed two more tabs in the ‘map’ section of their Slates, though the screen turned to static when he’d flipped to them, so he could only assume they were damaged. There seemed to be another rune, too, but that looked to be inaccessible at the moment.

Shoto let out a soft sigh as the Slate dinged, signaling it was complete. He pulled it from the terminal, giving the new section of the map a brief look-over before swapping over to his clothing tab. Pressing on the image of his shirt and boots caused them to appear on his body, which was helpful. Based on the empty slots, it seemed they would be able to acquire a variety of armors, so the quick-equip would be useful later on.

As he turned to descend, Shoto paused as he noticed one of the mountains in the distance - the volcano, if he recalled correctly. It was nothing more than a tiny tug, but something in the back of his mind told him it was important. He made a mental note to visit it as soon as possible to find out what was causing that feeling.

Thankfully, with the paraglider, getting down from the Tower wasn’t as difficult as on the Plateau. He was able to glide back across the river, too, landing next to the other two. Naomasa appeared in a brief flash of purple, tail swishing. “Did the map appear for the two of you?”

“Mhm!” Izuku nodded. He was studying his Slate, speaking as Shoto mounted his horse again. “Another thing popped up, too - a Sheikah Sensor. It says it’ll help us locate Shrines that are nearby. The signal will get stronger if we’re going in the right direction.”

“Huh.” Shoto blinked in surprise. “I suppose that will be useful.”

“Let’s get going,” Katsuki interrupted, glancing up at the sky. “The sun’s getting a bit low. Let’s aim to get to Kakariko by sunset, then we can stay there for the night and go from there.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Izuku hummed, putting his Slate away. They continued on, following the path between the Dueling Peaks. A shrine was on the other side of the river, tucked into the rock, but Shoto scrunched up his nose. “Unless one of you wants to swim across, we can get that one when we come back through.”

“Agreed,” Izuku said, laughing nervously. “But, um... Didn’t you think to use Cryonis? It’s pretty hard to slip on that ice, seeing as we can climb it and all...”

“...don’t question my decisions.” Shoto huffed softly. “If I’m going to be honest, it still feels a bit weird using those runes. Oh- speaking of, we seem to be missing one. And there are some missing sections in the map tab.”

Izuku hummed curiously, pulling out his Slate again. “Huh... You’re right. I wonder what they are. And if we can fix them.”

“We’re going to a village of Sheikah, right?” Katsuki scoffed. “Someone will know how to fix it.”

“You’re probably right...”

It wasn’t long after that a building came into view on the other side of the river. Thankfully, there was a bridge the path led to, though Shoto glanced down dubiously at the water. It seemed shallower here, but still cold.

There were more people at the stable, a curious building that had a haphazard horse’s head constructed on top. At the very least, it made the building identifiable, Shoto supposed. Another shrine was a small distance away, though this was surrounded by spikes. Thankfully, there was a wall to one side they would be able to climb and jump down from, though.

As they approached, a man behind the counter called out to them. “Hey there! Haven’t seen you folk around here at all.”

“We’re just visiting for the first time,” Izuku spoke up, smiling. “Though we were wondering about supplies?”

“Oh, sure. Plenty of people stop by the stables to buy and sell. Take a chance to talk to some of them. Meanwhile, the stables themselves focus on horses. Speaking of, I see you have some newer ones there. Would you like to register them in the system?”

“...huh?”

“Hm, you must be new to this. There are stables all throughout the kingdom; when you register your horse at one, it allows you to board it at any other stable and exchange horses if you have multiple. There’s a 20 rupee fee for the registration, along with saddles, but overall it’s pretty useful.”

The three shared a surprised glance. Shoto was quick to grab his Slate and look through; thankfully, they already had a few rupees - close to two hundred. He wondered briefly if it was perhaps leftover from before their time in the Shrine of Resurrection, but shook it off. “We’ll accept.”

“Alright! Let me get the paperwork...”

Ten minutes later, and now in saddles that were far more comfortable than riding bareback, they were on their way again. The registration had required names for the horses; Katsuki had named his Epona, Izuku’s had been named Sakura, and Shoto’s had been named Haiele. It was odd, really - how quickly the attachment grew once they named the horses.

The stable owner had also mentioned calling their horses via whistling, as well as gaining affection from their horses, which would lead to them being more willing to listen to commands in the future. Already, Shoto was beginning to notice a difference - less rearing, less trying to stray from the path, so on. He was actually able to relax a bit and look around.

The fields to their right must have been the area the traveler on the bridge had mentioned; even from the path, Shoto could see dozens of decayed Guardians strewn about in all positions. In the distance, he could see a wall, crumbling in some places, but it didn’t seem as if any of the Guardians had gotten past. That must have been Fort Hateno, then.

After crossing another bridge and beginning an ascent up a winding path, Katsuki, up front, slowed, frowning. “...what the hell is that?”

Shoto pulled Haiele up beside Epona, following the blond’s gaze. An odd creature with skin that looked similar to tree bark and what looked to be leaves atop its head was standing next to a tree, and seemed to be... crying.

“That looks to be a Korok,” he commented, then realized they might not know what that was. “I found one on the other side of the river,” he explained. “They’re forest creatures. We should go see what’s wrong.”

“It’s also getting late,” Katsuki countered. 

“Kakariko’s not far down the road. Besides, it can’t hurt, can it?” Izuku spoke up, humming. “Come on, let’s just go see what’s wrong.”

“...fine,” Katsuki grumbled. They approached the Korok, and as they got closer, Shoto could make out a word that seemed to be ‘maracas’.

“Um... Hello,” Izuku spoke up, smiling hopefully. The Korok startled. 

“WHAAA- Huh? You... can see me?”

They all nodded, slightly confused.

“Shalaka! That’s amazing!” The Korok gave a little dance of delight. “My name is Hestu!” He - it? - slumped again. “I was trying to get back to the Korok Forest, but I got lost... And then those monsters stole my maracas! Shoko...”

“Do you know where they went?” Shoto asked, tilting his head. “Maybe we could get them back for you.”

“Really?! That would be amazing, shoko! But please be safe! They’re very mean, shala...”

“We’ll be careful,” Shoto assured him. Katsuki was already guiding Epona in the direction Hestu had gestured. There were a few rocks that formed an archway, and from the sound of it, there were Bokoblins beyond it.

Katsuki tilted his head, dismounting and drawing his sword. “I’ll handle this. You two stay here.”

“But-“ Izuku protested, but Katsuki had already entered the archway. There were alarmed grunts on the other side, presumably the Bokoblins, and then the sound of slashing and a few shrieks. Then silence, then something creaking, and Katsuki emerged, carrying two red items.

“...nevermind,” Izuku muttered, and Katsuki cracked a half-smile. “They were easy. And there was a cliff. Knocked one of them over it. Nothing bad.”

“One day you’re going to get hurt if you keep doing that,” Shoto warned, and Katsuki shrugged. “Then I’ll reconsider. Until then, it works this way, so I’m sticking with this way.”

He headed back down to Hestu, and as they followed, the Korok danced in delight. “Shakala! You found them! Oh, thank you, thank you!” The Korok took the maracas, then paused. “Shoko...? Oh, no! There aren’t any Korok seeds, so they don’t make any sound... If I had just one...”

“Actually,” Shoto spoke up, approaching, “I met a Korok on our way here. He said to give this to you if we found you.” The Korok seed appeared in his hand, and Hestu lit up.

“Oh, you have one! Then I can make this work! You see, in exchange for Korok seeds, I can expand some of your inventory slots! You can pick which one: your weapons, your bows, or your shields. It’ll expand for all of you, shoko! That way you don’t all have to collect seeds to upgrade the same slot.”

Shoto hummed. “Let’s do weapons, then. I have a feeling that’ll be useful.”

“Shokay!” Hestu took the seed, and it disappeared, presumably into the maracas.

Then he danced again, and Shoto couldn’t decide if he was amused or weirded out. All of their Slates buzzed, though, and when they took them out, they flipped to the weapon tab, showing a new slot appearing.

“Expanda-band... Weapon stash!” Hestu was practically vibrating with excitement. “If you find any other Korok seeds, just look for me! I need to get going for the Korok Forest, but I’m sure we’ll meet again!”

Izuku smiled warmly. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Hestu. We’ll see you again sometime!”

Hestu waved, and they remounted their horses, continued along the path. Katsuki looked fairly disturbed. “If we ever see him again, I don’t even care. You two can pick what we expand. I’m not watching that dance.”

“I dunno, it was kinda cute,” Izuku hummed.

“No. Don’t start.”

Shoto chuckled to himself, shaking his head. They were in for quite the adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any spelling errors or any /s, let me know! The site I save my drafts on doesn’t have an italics option, so I use the / to keep track of where I want my italics to be. And again, I don’t have my usual grammar/spellcheck, so if you see anything I’d be grateful to know! LEave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, they really do make my day <3


	8. Izuku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes arrive at Kakariko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> looooooooooots of exposition. nothing really happens honestly, this was mostly me trying to get back into this story so it hopefully won't take so long to update again.....

It's only a few minutes from Hestu's location to the entrance of Kakariko. The three had fallen silent upon entering the narrow pass; Izuku strays a few feet behind his companions, suddenly anxious about... well, everything. Toshinori had said someone would know who they were and would help them here. But if it had been 100 years, how would anyone know them? Unless the other races had extended lifespans, which might make things a bit weird...

"Izuku?"

He snaps out of his thoughts, looking ahead. Shoto had turned around slightly in his saddle, looking at him with concern. Katsuki was still trotting, though he glanced back to make sure they were okay.

"Is everything okay?"

Izuku hesitates as he nudges his horse, falling into a gentle pace beside Shoto. "I... Don't know. It's just... So much."

"I understand," Shoto murmurs, sighing softly. "Waking up into an unfamiliar world, told we have some great destiny to fulfill when we don't even know who we are..."

"I'm scared," Izuku whispers, looking down. "I'm scared that we won't be able to do what we need to. That-... That we'll fail again."

Shoto reaches over, patting Izuku's knee. "Well, for now, all we can do is try." He offers a small smile, and though the feeling of dread doesn't go away, Izuku finds it a tiny bit easier to bear.

The path winds back and forth, though it doesn't take long for them to pass under a marker indicating they were now in the boundaries of the village. As they continued, there was an odd sound - Izuku could only assume it was some kind of bird, but it sounded far different from the pleasant songs of the small birds they'd heard on the Plateau and along the way here.

As they round another bend, the village becomes visible. It's set into a small area among surrounding mountains, with the buildings worked into the gentle hill of the area. The entrance where they stand is the highest point; a path winds around the far side of the village and down to a larger house at the opposite end.

Izuku slowly dismounts, and Shoto and Katsuki follow shortly. There's a small fencing area that had clearly been used for travelers to tie their horses to; food and water were in easy reach. As they guide their horses over, a voice sounds from the side.

"Oh, how wonderful. We hardly ever get travelers these days..."

Izuku pokes his head out from behind his horse. An older woman is sitting near a fire off to one side. She has a gentleness to her that makes Izuku relax almost instantly, and he approaches. "Why is that, if I may ask...?"

"Well, part of it is the remoteness of the village," the woman chuckles softly. "But after the Calamity... Even after all this time, many are still fearful of traveling past the walls of Fort Hateno. You would have seen it on your way here; that large field with all of those decayed Guardians... That was the furthest many of them got back then, so many of the Hylians stay behind that wall."

She shifts a bit, and Izuku notices her ankle is swollen. "Oh, let me help you..."

He moves closer, only to see her eyes widen, focusing on his hip. "Is that...?"

He freezes, looking down at his Slate. Katsuki and Shoto shift behind him, but the woman doesn't seem threatening. Quite the opposite.

Tears are forming in her eyes. A smile splits her face suddenly, and she clasps her hands. "You've returned... Oh, you must hurry down to the house at the end of the path! Shota has been waiting for you."

Izuku looks back at his companions. Shoto nods a bit, and after a moment's hesitation the start down the path.

The Sheikah pause to greet them, at first thinking they're travelers looking to buy or sell. One by one, they see the Slates, and one by one, they fall silent in shock, watching them make their way down the slope. Izuku startles as he hears that odd bird again, looking to the side to find the source. The bird is far bigger than the ones they'd encountered. It has a mix of blue, red, orange and white feathers, and it's standing on top of one of the buildings. It crows again, and Izuku has to keep himself from laughing. Well then.

At the bottom of the hill is a wider area. Izuku notes with no small amount of relief that a Goddess Statue stands to one side, almost lovingly adorned with a small apron tied around its neck. Across from the statue, the largest house is elevated; two guards are at the bottom of the stairs. As they approach, they both rest a hand on their weapons.

"What is your business with-" The Sheikah cuts off, his eyes falling to their Slates. And, as with everyone else, their eyes widen and they step aside. "Forgive me...! Please, go right ahead."

The three companions share another glance, but Izuku leads the way up the stairs, silent.

The doors of the house are already open, likely to allow the sounds of the village and the warm air to enter. The inside is fairly dim, though lit with candles, and Izuku almost doesn't see the man off to their left. He startles like a rabbit when the man turns to face them.

He certainly looks fairly old, though not quite as much as the woman they met at the entrance to the village. His hair, sprinkled with gray but otherwise black, was pulled back into a loose bun to keep it from his face. He wore a similar outfit as the other Sheikah, though an odd scarf-like wrap rests around his shoulders. His red eyes are tired, yet Izuku has no doubt he still takes in every little detail about them in an instant. A scar curves around the bottom of his right eye, marring his otherwise fairly pale skin.

"So you're finally here."

The man moves from the wall - from a mural, Izuku notices, of a field with decayed Guardians all around - to a small sitting area in front of them. He motions for them to sit, and after a moment, they do. The man - Shota, Izuku remembers - looks them over, crossing his arms.

"I can tell from the way all of you are looking at me that you don't remember me. Which likely means you remember very little - if anything at all."

Katsuki speaks first. "Just who were you to us, anyway?"

The man sighs softly, resting his hands on his knees. "My name is Aizawa Shota. I'm the leader of the Sheikah tribe, and one-hundred years ago, myself and a few others transported you to the Shrine of Ressurection."

None of them speak.

"I acted as a mentor for all of you, though I focused heavily on the magic you two possess." He eyed Izuku and Shoto. "Toshinori and I made a plan to get you three to safety if we were unprepared by the time the Calamity struck. However, things became... complicated, which was why you needed to be put in the Shrine."

"What happened?" Izuku whispered. Shota rubbed his face a bit, shaking his head.

"To make sense of what happened a century ago, you need to know how all of this started." Aizawa gestured to one side, and Izuku inhaled sharply when he saw another picture - this, though, seemed to be more of a tapestry. It was faded and worn, which made him wonder how old it really was.

"Ten thousand years ago, the ancient Sheikah worked alongside the royal family to create machines that could combat All For One. These machines came to be known as the Guardians and the Divine Beasts. They were successful in holding him back, but not long after the Sheikah were exiled from the service of the royal family. They were forced to abandon their work, and so for thousands of years, no one knew where the machines ended up.

"Your grandfather was the one who reestablished connections between us," Shota continued, looking at Izuku. "As All For One had been dormant for many years, there was fear - no one knew when he would return. So, correcting the mistakes of his ancestors, we began to work together to search for the lost Divine Beasts and Guardians. He passed before we had any hint of them, but your father did not give up the search. Soon, all four Divine Beasts had been excavated, and a handful of Guardians were being experimented on to attempt to learn how to control them.

"As in ancient times, four Champions were chosen to pilot the Divine Beasts. Keigo Takami of the Rito piloted Vah Medoh; Ochako Ururaka of the Zora piloted Vah Ruta; Nemuri Kayama of the Gerudo piloted Vah Naboris; and Todoroki Enji, a Hylian, was forced to step in to pilot Vah Rudania after its Goron pilot was killed in a monster attack."

Izuku sees Shoto stiffen at the last name. His knuckles turn white as he grips the fabric of his pants. "The last one-"

"Your father," Shota says softly, and Shoto bows his head, silent.

"All of the Champions were gifted with some type of concentrated magic," Aizawa continued softly. "Rumors claimed they were the same abilities granted to the Champions of old. So, for a while, there was a tense peace as the Champions learned to pilot their Divine Beasts in preparation for the Calamity."

"Toshinori said they were killed before they could do anything," Katsuki stated softly. Aizawa nodded.

"They were. The Calamity took us all by surprise... The Champions had no warning, no way to know All For One had taken control of their Divine Beasts. They were all killed, and the Divine Beasts took aim upon the people who had become so at ease with them. In Central Hyrule, the Guardians were swarming. They appeared from out of thin air, it seemed. Castle Town was destroyed, as were the royal guard barracks, a handful of farms and ranches, and thousands of people were slaughtered. All the while, the three of you were heading to the source - to the castle, where All For One was waiting. The people inside were the first to die."

Izuku felt sick. A hand rested on his shoulder - to his surprise, it was Katsuki's. The blond said nothing, simply squeezing slightly as Aizawa sighed once more.

"To this day, I believe more would have died if not for the efforts of your father."

Izuku startles a bit. Aizawa looks him in the eye; there is more grief and sadness in his eyes than Izuku can ever hope to understand. But he knows why; after thousands of years of being exiled, Toshinori and his father had been the first to reach out, the first to try to mend what was broken. He couldn't even begin to imagine how close the bond between Aizawa and his father had become over the years spent searching for the Divine Beasts, for any hope for their people.

"The plan had been for him to escape with you if it was possible, and the guards were all ready. But your father saw those people suffering, and he did not turn his back and flee. Even though the majority of One For All passed to you, Izuku, he had a few embers remaining - enough to hold back All For One and give you enough time to get to safety. He never knew you were coming to the one place he wanted you to stay far, far away from.

"Magic... can be very dangerous. If there is not enough remaining in an individual, the magic will substitute their energy, their life to keep going. Your father knew the risks, but even giving his life was not quite enough. As the three of you fought your way through the Guardians in Castle Town, he died fighting All For One."

Katsuki's grip tightens a bit, and Izuku rests his hand on the blond's, silent.

"I think you knew the moment he fell," Aizawa murmured, shaking his head. "I had gotten word of where you were headed and had gone after you, fearing I was too late. I was at the edges of the fields of Central Hyrule when a massive wave of One For All was released. All of the Guardians were shut down; the Divine Beasts returned to a neutral state, and All For One was sealed in the castle.

"The three of you were on death's door when I found you. The Guardians had simply overwhelmed you, and that amount of magic took more energy than you were prepared for. The few Sheikah that had followed me helped transport you to the Great Plateau, and into the Shrine, where you were sealed for a century. Very little has changed since then; the land is still attempting to heal... A handful of Guardians reactivated, though they remain in remote areas, far from any place they could do harm. But not long after you woke..."

"So did All For One," Izuku whispered. "He's still sealed, but there's no telling how long that seal will hold. He realized we were still alive, that there was still a threat to his control."

Aizawa nodded gravely. "The Divine Beasts have been more active, as well. Not outright attacking, but enough to cause fear and unease. If you were to face All For One without reclaiming them, I have no doubt he would use them to destroy the people clinging to their last shreds of hope."

Shoto finally spoke, lifting his head. "Will it weaken him? To take them back?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But... I know there are others. A new generation who stands a chance at piloting the Divine Beasts, and using them to aid your fight against All For One."

Aizawa's eyes flashed. "Find the new Champions. They will help you free the Divine Beasts - and put an end to this once and for all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please don't hesitate to point out any errors in the chapter! comments also make my day, i love to see people enjoying this story!!


	9. Katsuki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katsuki finds a creature in the night, and it leads him to a shadow of his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy guess who's in quarantine and finally had time to write! 1.9k for my first time writing again in two months, I'd say that's not too shabby!

They stay the night in Kakariko at the inn, free of charge. The Sheikah are happy to provide rooms for them, though Katsuki doubts he'll be sleeping much before dawn.

Shota's story stirred something in him; an irritating feeling of almost remembering something, yet not quite. It was at the very edges of his memory, close yet still out of reach, and the more time he spent thinking, the more frustrated he became at his lack of progress.

With a soft sigh, Katsuki brushed his hair from his face, moving to the window after an unknown time spent pacing his room. The lights of the village were dimmed, but not fully out; most of the Sheikah had gone to sleep, though a few of the men were rotating guard shifts around that time. It was odd, seeing a place like this after their first welcoming back into the world had been the isolated and desolate Great Plateau, with its destroyed buildings and decayed Guardians seeming to watch their every move as they wandered around.

Restless, he pulled out his Slate, sitting on the edge of his bed as he flipped over to the video tab. There were still many files that seemed to be corrupted, which was frustrating, but... Perhaps their past selves had given hints as to how they could even think about starting to solve this mess.

He lingered on the one video they did have, studying the still-image used to represent it. His attention went everywhere, from the symbols on the walls and Izuku's clothing to the armor he wore. His eyes drifted back to the sword he had, though; it seemed different from those they'd seen. He'd intended to ask about it in private before Aizawa's recollection of the past sent his thoughts into another direction entirely. Unlike the sword he'd woken in the Shrine with, the one he wore in the video didn't seem to have any symbols of the royal family. The hilt was shaped somewhat like spreading wings, with a golden jewel set in the center of the design. He couldn't see much else, as the sword was sheathed and mostly hidden behind him, but... 

It was part of those half-there memories.

Katsukie set the Slate down at his side, rubbing at his face. So much had happened in the past few days, and it felt like his brain was going to explode. There was so much to process and worry about, not only for himself but for his two companions. From what Aizawa had implied, the power they needed to stop All For One once and for all lay within Izuku, but none of them knew how to access it. Shoto was still struggling to control even faint bits of magic.

At the moment, it felt as if Katsuki was the one that remembered the most from his past life in the form of basic instincts. Fighting came easily to him, but in the cases where violence wouldn't solve the problem... He snorted weakly. Perhaps it was best they all had each other for this initial phase of exploration. He didn't want to ponder how screwed they would each be on their own.

Something caught his eye in the window, then. He stood, moving over and shifting the curtains slightly to get a better view. On the path outside the inn, a strange blue rabbit-like creature sat staring at his window. It glowed faintly, and once it had his attention, it hopped down the path a little ways before looking back at him.

"...I'm going to follow the fucking rabbit, aren't I," Katsuki muttered. He turned away from the window, grabbing his Slate and sword, slipping his boots on as he left his room. In the hall, Naomasa slept to one side, though his ears twitched and his head lifted as Katsuki shut his door quietly. 

The blond moved past the wolf, patting his head softly as he went. "I'll be back soon. Keep an eye on them, alright?"

Naomasa's tail thumped, and though his gaze remained on Katsuki, he did not move to follow him.

The air outside had a slight chill, and Katsuki made a mental note that they'd probably have to look into buying clothing that would protect them against the elements when the time came. His focus remained on the rabbit creature, however, and he followed it down the path through the village and into the hillsides beyond. Another shrine lay tucked into the earth, and he made a note of its location as they continued down the path, the rabbit constantly looking back at him with twitching ears.

The path forked not far along. The rabbit went to the right, and while Katsuki strayed somewhat, glancing down the path to the left, he ultimately gave in and followed. The trees blocked out some of the moonlight, but his eyes adjusted quickly. Still, he kept on alert, glancing around as they moved deeper into the forested area. Soon enough, the trees thinned out again, and the path narrowed as hills on either side created a small valley.

Once more, there were two directions; the rabbit once more went to the right, and Katsuki could faintly hear running water. To the left, there seemed to be a field, and beyond he could see jutting mountains. From what Aizawa had mentioned, he assumed it to be Zora's Domain, though he would have to wait on confirmation for that. The rabbit was once more peering back at him, and reluctantly, he followed once more.

The area seemed to have once been a set of twin bridges on either side, though the one he was on had sunk to the river's level. Crumbling pillars and carvings lined the walls of the ravine, some looking like birds, others like dragons, and even more as creatures he couldn't identify. He spotted more than a few enemies ahead, though for the time being they seemed to be asleep. Creeping around their camps didn't wake them, either, but he found himself glancing over his shoulder several times to make sure they didn't wake suddenly.

There were several such camps along the path, but a fair amount of stealth let him bypass them without incident. Ahead, a large archway led to a snowy forest, and seeing that, Katsuki shivered, not realizing how cold it had become along the way. 

The rabbit settled a few meters away from the archway, and as Katsuki approached, the area seemed to glow faintly. His pace slowed, wary, but there didn't seem to be any danger to it, so he stepped into the glow.

It started as a small tickle in the back of his mind, in the place those memories refused to emerge from. Then, suddenly, he was hit with the force of it, and as he fell to his knees, Katsuki remembered.

_The three were silent as they moved towards the other Champions. Izuku, eyes cast to the ground, seemed exhausted, and a glance over his shoulder at the mountain behind them gave Katsuki a hint as to why._

_Nemuri was the first to step closer as they neared the archway. "Anything...?"_

_Izuku's jaw clenched, and he shook his head slowly. The other Champions slumped slightly, and Shoto rested a hand on Izuku's shoulder._

_Enji was the next to speak, breaking the pause. "Then we move on. There was never a guarantee that these springs would help unlock your power in the first place. We just need to consider it from another angle."_

_Keigo rested a comforting wing on Izuku's shoulders. "Flamebrain is right," he hummed, ignoring Enji's glare. "Magic can be fickle. What works for one person may not work for another, and vice versa. We just have to figure out what works for you."_

_"Thank you," Izuku whispered, closing his eyes. "I just-... I'm so frustrated."_

_"We're all willing to wait as long as it takes," Ochako said firmly, taking Izuku's hand in her own. Then she paused, glancing to the side. "Though... I wanted to mention something... When I use my healing magic, well... I find it helps to think about-"_

_She never got to finish her words. The ground shook beneath them violently, and Keigo was quick to launch into the skies, his scarlet wings carrying him over the cliffs of the ravine. Katsuki's fists clenched; they all knew what it was, even before the Rito Champion landed. "It's him."_

_Fear shone in Izuku's eyes. "We're too late..."_

_"Not yet," Enji stated firmly. "Everyone, to your Divine Beasts! We need to provide Shoto and Katsuki as large of an opening as possible to get them into the castle."_

_Nemuri rested a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "We need to get you somewhere safe, as well."_

_"I'm not running from this!" Everyone paused in surprise at Izuku's outburst. "I may not be able to use my power... But I want to help however I can!"_

_The Champions shared a grim look, then nodded and scattered. Keigo took Nemuri and soared off towards the desert, while Ochako headed for the river. Enji paused, frowning as he looked at them. "Promise me you'll stay safe. All of you."_

_"We will," Shoto said softly, moving closer and giving his father a quick hug. "Now go, before All For One makes it too difficult to get back to Redania."_

_Even as they set out, hurrying back to Kakariko to get to their horses, Katsuki couldn't shake the feeling that both father and son silently knew there was a good chance that had been a farewell embrace._

When Katsuki came back to himself, he found his face damp and his eyes burning. The rabbit was gone, and the only sound was the river behind him and his own soft sobs.

A voice sounded from behind him, and he was on his feet, whirling around with a hand on his sword. "I'd hoped there would be more time before one of you sought out the location of one of your memories." Aizawa stood a few feet back, a cloak hanging from his arms. "And that you would be together for it."

Katsuki's hand dropped to his side, and he stood numbly as Aizawa moved closer, setting the cloak around his shoulders. "That was the last time we saw any of them, wasn't it?"

The noirette nodded sadly. "Yes. I was helping people flee to Fort Hateno when you returned and set out for the castle. I would have stopped you otherwise..."

"We should have known... We should have anticipated there might have been a chance that he went for the Guardians and the Beasts first..."

"We were blinded by our confidence," Aizawa murmured sadly, setting an arm around Katsuki's shoulders and beginning to lead him back down the path towards Kakariko. "It worked for our ancestors; no one thought he might have been smart enough to go after them this time after being defeated by them before." He let out a sigh, a faint cloud appearing in front of his face. "All we can hope for now is that we don't make that same mistake this time."

Neither said anything the rest of the way back, and when Katsuki reentered his room, Naomasa was waiting on the floor by his bed. The wolf lifted his head as Katsuki entered, and the blond silently removed his equipment, moved to sit by Naomasa's side, and wept until dawn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment or a kudos if you enjoyed, and pleaaase point out any errors if you find them! I'm proud of the chapter but I know mistakes can slip through the cracks.
> 
> Stay safe, everyone!


End file.
